Stock rally continues at PSX as KSE-100 settles at new all-time high of 90,864

Buying spree showed no signs of slowing down at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at a new record high on Tuesday.

The KSE-100 commenced trading on a positive note, hitting an intra-day high of 91,358.15. However, selling was witnessed in the final hours of trading, which trimmed intra-day gains.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 90,864.09, an increase of 668.58 points or 0.74%.

“The positive performance was primarily driven by robust corporate earnings, which exceeded expectations and laid a strong foundation for investor confidence. Institutional buying further supported the rally, reinforcing the overall optimism,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

Key contributors to the index included FFC, SYS, CHCC, HUBC, and GLAXO, which collectively added 515 points, it added.

The stock market has been on a record-breaking spree in recent weeks, amid investors’ expectations of an imminent rate cut in the upcoming monetary policy, alongside strong corporate earnings.

On Monday, PSX opened on a strong positive note and hit record high levels before selling pressure erased most of the intra-day gains. The benchmark KSE-100 index settled at 90,195.52, which was its then-highest-ever level with a net gain of 201.55 points or 0.22%.

Globally, Asian stocks were mixed in volatile trading on Tuesday as investors girded for three days of tech megacap earnings reports on Wall Street, kicking off with Google parent Alphabet later in the day.

The dollar drifted not far from a three-month high with one of the Federal Reserve’s preferred employment gauges - the JOLTS job openings report - due on Tuesday, ahead of highly anticipated monthly non-farm payrolls data on Friday.

The Nikkei index recovered from a cautious start to build on the previous session’s gains.

The US election has entered its final stretch, with opinion polls still too close to call a winner, despite some betting sites and financial markets leaning toward a win for Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris.

Crude ticked up slightly following its plunge on Monday on signs the war in the Middle East would not widen, after Israel avoided targeting oil and nuclear facilities in a retaliatory strike on Iran at the weekend.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered a marginal decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.02% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the currency settled at 277.74, a loss of Re0.06 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 602.81 million from 567.26 million on Monday.

However, the value of shares declined to Rs28.20 billion from Rs29.21 billion in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 41.40 million shares, followed by Silk Bank Ltd with 31.28 million shares, and Pace (Pak) Ltd with 30.21 million shares.

Shares of 440 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 171 registered an increase, 219 recorded a fall, while 50 remained unchanged.