Bullish momentum was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), as the benchmark KSE-100 Index closed with a gain of over 1,500 points on Monday.
Positive movement persisted throughout the trading session, pushing the KSE-100 to an intra-day high of 116,494.19.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 116,390.03, an increase of 1,536.70 points or 1.34%.
“The upbeat momentum was largely driven by better-than-expected inward remittance figures, which significantly bolstered investor sentiment,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
“Further support came from a broadly positive trend across regional markets, which encouraged local investors to re-enter and build fresh positions across key sectors,” it added.
Much of the positive momentum was driven by notable gains in heavyweight stocks, with UBL, LUCK, HUBC, ENGROH, and EFERT collectively contributing a substantial 1,178 points to the index, Topline said.
Investors rejoice as the inflow of overseas workers’ remittances into Pakistan stood at $4.1 billion in March 2025, crossing the $4-billion mark for the first time, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data showed on Monday.
During the previous week, the PSX remained volatile amid heightened global uncertainty triggered by tariff announcements from the US President Donald Trump. The KSE-100 index dropped 3,938 points, or 3.3%, on a week-on-week basis, closing at 114,853 points.
Globally, Wall Street share futures rallied in Asia on Monday after the White House exempted smartphones and computers from “reciprocal” US tariffs, though gains were limited as Trump warned levies were still likely at some point.
Trump on Sunday told reporters tariffs on semiconductors would be announced over the next week and a decision on phones made “soon”.
On the face of it, the exemption of 20 product types accounting for 23% of US imports from China, was a boon to manufacturers.
However, the off-again, on-again policy gyrations left investors confused and analysts bearish on the long run.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.6%, having shed more than 4% last week.
Chinese blue chips gained 0.5%, with suppliers of Apple gear doing well.
Japan’s Nikkei added 1.6%, after fluctuating wildly in recent days in response to the changing tariff news.
Japanese officials are gearing up for trade negotiations with the United States that will likely touch on currency policy, with some officials privately bracing for Washington to call on Tokyo to prop up the yen.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee saw slight decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.05% in the inter-bank market on Monday. At close, the currency settled at 280.60, a loss of Re0.13 against the US dollar.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 484.55 million from 458.59 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares declined to Rs27.43 billion from Rs31.63 billion in the previous session.
Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 55.09 million shares, followed by Pak Int.Bulk with 45.23 million shares, and Sui South Gas with 31.84 million shares.
Shares of 455 companies were traded on Monday, of which 247 registered an increase, 145 recorded a fall, while 63 remained unchanged.
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