KEY POINTS
- The KSE-100 Index surged to a record close of 169,456 points
- The rally followed the IMF Executive Board’s approval of a $1.2 billion tranche
- Major sectors—such as cement, banking, fertilizers, oil and gas exploration recorded substantial gains
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) observed a bullish trend on Tuesday with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing at a new all-time high, driven by strong investor sentiment following IMF approval of a $1.2 billion tranche for Pakistan.
In early trading on the second day of the business week, the stock market jumped by over 1,000 points, with the KSE-100 Index hitting an intraday high of 169,601 points.
By the session’s close, the benchmark index settled at 169,456 points, posting a net gain of 1,153 points or 0.69%.
Strong buying interest was seen across major sectors, including cement, commercial banking, fertilizers, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies (OMCs), power generation, and refineries.
Leading stocks such as Hub Power Company (Hubco), Mari Petroleum, OGDC, POL, PPL, MCB Bank, Meezan Bank, NBP, and UBL all traded in positive territory.
Market analysts attributed the rally to the IMF Executive Board’s approval, under which Pakistan received nearly $1.2 billion.
This comprises roughly $1 billion under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and $200 million through the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
With this latest release, Pakistan’s total receipts from the IMF under these programmes have reached about $3.3 billion.
For context, in the preceding trading session, the KSE-100 Index had closed at 168,303 points.
“The rally drew further strength from the IMF’s approval of nearly $1.1 billion under the EFF and $220 million under the RSF, a decision that keeps the two loan programmes worth $8.4 billion firmly on track and boosted investor sentiment,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
“This stellar momentum was powered by robust and persistent buying from local mutual funds, which revived sentiment and kept the rally firmly anchored. Market heavyweights FFC, LUCK, HBL, PSO, and MLCF led the advance, collectively contributing roughly 640 points to the benchmark’s impressive rise.”
