The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained its upward trajectory with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing above 93,000 level for the first time in history on Friday.
Bulls remained dominant over the market throughout the session, with the KSE-100 reaching a record intra-day high of 93,514.56.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 93,291.68, up by 771.19 points or 0.83%.
“The benchmark index closed on a positive note today, reaching an all-time high. Investors engaged in value buying, encouraged by global easing measures, as central banks like the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England cut interest rates. This move fueled optimism for lower interest rates in the future,” brokerage house Ismail Iqbal Securities said.
Buying was observed in key sectors including E&P, power, fertiliser, OMCs, auto, chemical, and pharma. Index-heavy stocks including OGDC, PPL, HUBC, and PSO traded in the green.
The stock market has been on a buying spree in recent weeks led by strong corporate results and improved economic indicators. Some recent global developments also contributed in the record close on Friday.
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday as policymakers took note of a job market that has “generally eased” while inflation continues to move towards the US central bank’s 2% target.
“Economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace,” the US central bank’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee said at the end of a two-day policy meeting in which officials lowered the benchmark overnight interest rate to the 4.50%-4.75% range, as widely expected. The decision was unanimous.
The Bank of England (BoE) also said it was cutting its key interest further after UK inflation hit a three-year low and signalled more reductions. The BoE trimmed borrowing costs by 25 basis points to 4.75%.
On the local front, the inflow of overseas workers’ remittances into Pakistan stood at $3.052 billion in October 2024, a substantial 24% increase on a year-on-year (YoY) basis when compared with $2.463 billion in the same month of the previous year, showed data released on Friday by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
On Thursday, PSX witnessed a bullish trend and hit record levels on the back of fresh buying, mainly by local investors coupled with institutional support.
Globally, Asian stocks pared early gains on Friday as investors cautiously turned their focus to stimulus announcements from China later in the day with Beijing’s week-long legislative meeting drawing to a close.
Regional equities had started the day by tracking Wall Street’s overnight rise to record highs, with investors digesting the Federal Reserve’s message for careful interest rate cuts even with expectations for big fiscal spending under incoming President Donald Trump.
An MSCI gauge of Asia-Pacific stocks was up 0.33% as of 0552 GMT, after earlier rising as much as 0.78%.
The index remained on track for a 2.7% rally this week, after quickly recovering from a knee-jerk dip on U.S. election night, which spurred worries of debilitating trade tariffs, not least in China.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.08% in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the currency settled at 277.74, a gain of Re0.21 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 763.25 million from 678.79 million on Thursday.
The value of shares rose to Rs30.21 billion from Rs24.83 billion in the previous session.
B.O.Punjab was the volume leader with 66.48 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 51.31 million shares, and Pak Elektron with 44.16 million shares.
Shares of 446 companies were traded on Friday, of which 243 registered an increase, 146 recorded a fall, while 57 remained unchanged.