ISLAMABAD: Shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) crossed yet another all-time high of 95,000 on Friday as bulls ruled at the trading house.
This remarkable achievement reflects growing investor confidence and a resilient economy, as well as a robust performance across various sectors.
At end of the last business day, the 100-Index increased by 571.75 points, with a positive change of 0.61 percent to stand at 94,763.64 points from the previous close of 94,191.89 points. At one time, the PSX-100 index had risen by 932 points, reaching an all-time high of 95,278 points.
Overall, 893,170,249 shares were traded during the day as compared to 1,084,344,207 shares the previous trading day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs 30.811 billion against Rs. 32.680 billion on the previous trading day.
As many as 473 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 204 of them registered gains and 204 met losses, whereas the share price of 65 companies remained unchanged.
The three top trading companies were WorldCall Telecom with 77,999,077 shares at Rs 1.34 per share, followed by Fauji Foods Limited with 70,721,702 shares at Rs 11.61 per share whereas Hascol Petrol settled with 55,501,231 shares at Rs.8.24 per share.
Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited witnessed a maximum increase of Rs.279.82 per share price, closing at Rs 19,185.00, whereas Pakistan National Shipping Corporation was the runner-up with an increase of Rs 29.88 in its per share price to Rs 337.99.
Hallmark Company Limited recorded a maximum decline of Rs 42.47 per share closing at Rs 720.23 followed by Khyber Textile Mills Limited with Rs 39.19 decline to close at Rs 376.87.
The PSX index’s robust performance shows optimism among investors as well as a positive economic outlook. Experts attribute this record-breaking trend to a mix of positive corporate earnings, improved financial indicators, and increased foreign interest in the country’s equity market.
The 95,000-point landmark underlines the PSX’s position as one of the region’s best-performing stock markets, highlighting a period of historic increase as well as resilience.
“Stocks showed some recovery on the back of second and third-tier shares because of their strong valuations,” said Ahsan Mehanti, MD of Arif Habib Corporation while speaking to Express Tribune news daily.
“Upbeat data of car sales that surged 112% year-on-year in October and FBR’s assurance to the IMF about dropping contingency measures for a mini-budget played the role of catalysts in positive close at the PSX,” he said.
Yousuf M. Farooq, director of research at Chase Securities, told the daily ‘Dawn’ that as returns decline in fixed-income mutual funds, investors are increasingly moving cash into equities.
“Macro indicators appear stable, though some tax adjustments may be necessary to meet targets,” he said.
Daily Dawn quoted Awais Ashraf, director of research at AKD Securities, as saying, the appealing valuation of the KSE-100 index is attracting investors back to equities, driven by declining fixed-income yields and commodity prices, along with strengthening macroeconomic stability.
