New all-time high: KSE-100 settles near 118,000

Positive momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 1,000 points to settle at a new all-time high of 117,974.02 on Wednesday.

Positive momentum prevailed throughout the trading session, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index hitting an intra-day high of 118,243.63.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 117,974.02, an increase of 972.93 points or 0.83%.

Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including PRL, NRL, HUBCO, PSO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, HBL, NBP and UBL traded in green.

Market experts attributed the upward trend to multiple positive developments.

“Last week, it was reported that progress has been made in reducing the energy sector circular debt, and the government is planning to implement debt refinancing for this, which was a positive for index-heavy energy stocks,” Saad Hanif, Head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, told Business Recorder.

Additionally, this week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lauded Pakistan’s progress under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. “Thus the market is hopeful that an SLA would be inked soon,” said Hanif.

The market analyst added that the government’s decision to reduce the electricity rate, expected to be announced on 23rd March, is also driving market sentiments.

Meanwhile, experts noted that volumes have improved since Ramadan’s first week. “This means that buying activity is being seen,” said Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited (AHL).

She said that the positive momentum is expected to continue in the coming days.

On Tuesday, the buying rally continued at the PSX, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index settling above the 117,000 level amid a gain of over 800 points.

Internationally, Asian stocks were subdued on Wednesday and gold hovered near record highs as economic worries and a shifting geopolitical landscape kept risk appetite in check. At the same time, the yen was a tad softer ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy decision.

The euro remained close to the five-month high it reached on Tuesday after Germany’s parliament approved plans for a significant increase in spending, handing conservative leader and the chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz a huge boost.

Geopolitical tensions escalated as Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza and killed more than 400 people on Tuesday, shattering nearly two months of relative calm since a ceasefire began, unnerving investors.

Adding to the unease, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to stop attacking Ukrainian energy facilities temporarily but refrained from endorsing a full 30-day ceasefire.

That left investor sentiment fragile and market moves muted, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.12%. Japan’s Nikkei was 0.5% higher on a weak yen.

The focus in Asian hours will also be on Indonesian stocks after the stock market there clocked its sharpest fall in nearly three years on Tuesday, on concerns over the government’s fiscal strategy and the nation’s growth prospects.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 544.20 million from 449.48 million recorded in the previous close.

Whereas, the value of shares improved to Rs32.31 billion from Rs29.18 billion in the previous session.

Pak Int.Bulk was the volume leader with 52.15 million shares, followed by Pak Elektron with 36.13 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 30.88 million shares.

Shares of 449 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 221 registered an increase, 157 recorded a fall, while 71 remained unchanged.