KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange has surpassed historic milestone of 100,000 mark, reflecting a 150 percent return in just 16 months from 40,000 to 100,000, analysts said.

With this impressive achievement, the PSX is the best performing market globally for calendar year 2024, with a 60 percent return year-to-date, they added.

“The milestone reflects robust economic recovery and consistent performance across major sectors, driving investor confidence,” Shahid Ali Habib, CEO, Arif Habib Limited said.

He said continued growth anticipated due to increased market participation, ongoing reforms, resilience in challenging conditions. The P/E ratio increased from 2.6x to 5.5x, still below the historical average of 7.25x, indicating potential for further growth, he added.

Muhammad Sohail, CEO of Topline Securities said that the stock market performed exceptionally well due to new IMF loan coupled with fiscal and monetary discipline that improved investors sentiments. Moreover, faster than expected, fall in inflation and interest rates adding cash liquidity to the stock market.

He said Pakistan in spite of this rally trades at PE of 5x compared to the historical average of 7x. “From less than 1,000 points in the late 1990s to 100,000 today, market is up 100 timesa,” he said.

Despite challenges, the market has generated following 20 percent annual return in PKR and 13 percent annual return in US$ term in last 25 years.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024