Stocks rose again as the market extended a buying spree that has pushed the benchmark KSE-100 to a series of record highs. The index closed above 95,000 for the first time in history with a 861-point rally on Tuesday.
The KSE-100 started the session positive on the back of positive macroeconomic indicators. It briefly crossed 96,000 during intra-day trading before closing shy of another historical level.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 95,856.67, up by 861 points or 0.91%.
“The market opened on a positive note, buoyed by expectations of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) falling within the 4.5% to 5.0% YoY range. Notably, this marks the first time in 78 months that inflation is anticipated to drop below 5%,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post market report.
Inflation in Pakistan clocks in at 7.2% in October 2024
SYS from the technology sector drew considerable investor interest after the announcement that OneZapp, a subsidiary of Systems Ltd., had officially secured approval from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to commence commercial operations as an Electronic Money Institute, the report added.
The pharmaceutical sector continued its upward trajectory, with AGP, BFBIO, FEROZ, and ABOT all closing higher than their previous sessions, extending their recent rally.
Key contributors to the index’s upward movement included SYS, UBL, ABOT, PSO, and EFERT, collectively adding 484 points to the index, Topline said.
Analysts attributed the positive momentum to improved economic indicators and reports indicating that no additional tax measures are currently under consideration.
Pakistan’s current account posted a surplus of $349 million in October 2024 compared to a deficit of $287 million in the same month of the previous year, data released on Monday by the SBP showed.
This was the third consecutive month of a current account surplus.
On Monday, a bullish trend continued and PSX hit a new highest-ever level on the back of strong interest of local investors coupled with institutional support. The KSE-100 Index increased by 232.03 points or 0.24% and closed at new highest-ever level of 94,995.67 points.
Internationally, Asian stocks rose on Tuesday while US bond yields and the dollar hung back from multi-month highs as traders awaited President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet selection and sought to gauge the outlook for Federal Reserve easing.
Tech shares advanced, tracking Wall Street’s recovery from last week’s steep losses although Nvidia’s upcoming earnings on Wednesday limited the scope for big moves.
Markets have pared bets for a quarter-point interest-rate cut at the Fed’s next meeting in December to less than 59%, down from 62% a day earlier and more than 65% a week ago, according to CME FedWatch.
Trump’s mooted fiscal spending, higher tariffs and tighter immigration are seen as inflationary by analysts, potentially impeding Fed rate cuts, which are already being hampered by a run of resilient economic data.
Trump has begun making appointments, filling health and defence roles last week, but key positions for financial markets - Treasury secretary and trade representative - have yet to be announced.
MSCI’s index of world stocks snapped a four-day losing streak on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee recorded a marginal decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.03% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the currency settled at 277.95, a loss of Re0.09 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 830.93 million from 765.21 million on Monday.
The value of shares rose to Rs30.02 billion from Rs23.92 billion in the previous session.
Hascol Petrol was the volume leader with 60.06 million shares, followed by K-Electric Ltd with 44.49 million shares, and Cnergyico PK with 42.30 million shares.
Shares of 460 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 249 registered an increase, 156 recorded a fall, while 55 remained unchanged.