KSE-100 closes shy of record 90,000 mark, continues winning streak amid strong buying

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another bullish session as its benchmark KSE-100 closed near the record 90,000 level after the index surpassed it for the first time during intra-day trading on Friday.

The bulls remained largely dominant in the market on Friday, helping the KSE-100 hit a record intra-day high of 90,593.61, followed by some selling in the final hours that led the index to close below 90,000.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 89,993.97, up by 1,047.98 points or 1.18%.

Earlier, buying was witnessed in index-heavy stocks including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs. Index-heavy stocks including OGDC, PPL, SSGC, NBP and MEBL traded in the green.

The stock market has been on an upward trend in recent weeks on account of improved economic indicators and expectations of a significant policy rate cut by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in its upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which is scheduled for November 4, 2024.

Analysts anticipate a potential interest rate cut of at least 200 basis points, driven by easing inflationary pressures.

CPI inflation reading clocked in at 6.9% in September 2024 and is anticipated to remain stable in October, within an estimated range of 6.5% to 7%.

On Thursday, bulls dominated the PSX on the back of aggressive buying, mainly by local investors coupled with institutional support. The benchmark index surged by 1,751.45 points or 2.01% and closed at an all-time highest level of 88,945.99 points.

Globally, China stocks opened flat on Friday and were set to rise slightly for the week, as investors await details of Beijing’s fiscal stimulus and next month’s US election results.

China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index were little changed at the open.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei share average was set to mark a second week of declines on Friday as investors weighed the risk outlooks ahead of a domestic election that could see the ruling party lose its majority.

The Nikkei fell nearly 1% to 37,771.79 by the midday break, putting the benchmark index on track for a 3% loss for the week.

The broader Topix was also down 1% at 2,609.83.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.07% in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the currency settled at 277.64, a gain of Re0.20 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 695.54 million from 757.65 million on Thursday.

However, the value of shares rose to Rs37.87 billion from Rs36.05 billion in the previous session.

Fauji Foods Ltd was the volume leader with 57.56 million shares, followed by K-Electric Ltd with 41.40 million shares, and Sui South Gas with 38.04 million shares.

Shares of 457 companies were traded on Friday, of which 181 registered an increase, 222 recorded a fall, while 54 remained unchanged.