ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its bullish trend on Thursday with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 1000 points as buyers rejoiced after the US struck a trade deal with Pakistan.
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index settled at 139,390.42 level, showing an increase of 978.17 points or 0.71%.
Analysts attribute the surge in buying to investor confidence following a new agreement between the US and Pakistan.
The deal includes reduced tariffs for Pakistan and US support in developing the country’s oil reserves, fueling optimism in the market.
“We have just concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves,” US President Donald Trump wrote on social media.
On Thursday, a total of 577,348,593 shares were traded as compared to 425,836,625 shares on the last working day, whereas the price of shares stood at PKR 36.348 billion against PKR 24.999 billion on the previous trading day.
As many as 483 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 235 of them recorded gains and 215 met losses, whereas the share price of 33 companies remained unchanged.
The three top trading companies were Bank of Punjab with 82,936,839 shares at PKR14.06 per share, followed by Invest Bank with 37,156,865 shares at PKR8.99 per share, whereas Oil and Gas Dev settled with 24,206,621 shares at PKR233.01 per share.
Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited witnessed a maximum increase of PKR 477.94 per share price, closing at PKR 33,497.96, whereas Pakistan Services Limited was the runner-up with a PKR 36.02 rise in its per share price to PKR 1,015.01.
PIA Holding Company LimitedB witnessed a maximum decline of PKR 2,542.49 per share, closing at PKR28,756.51, followed by SS Oil Mills Limited with a drop of PKR 60.84 in its share price to close at PKR 730.24.
On Wednesday, the PSX observed a mixed day of trading with some indices posting gains as the State Bank of Pakistan kept the policy rate unchanged at 11%.
Global trend
Asian stocks slipped on Thursday, pressured by disappointing Chinese economic data and a sharp decline in copper prices, as markets also digested a new trade agreement between South Korea and the United States.
Meanwhile, the US dollar hovered near a two-month high, supported by the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged and strong earnings reports from major tech companies.
Nasdaq futures jumped 1.2% following better-than-expected results from Microsoft and Meta Platforms, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.8%.
Despite the dip, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.7% but remained on course for a fourth straight monthly gain in July.
