KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its upward climb, crossing the historic 58,000 mark for the first time during Wednesday’s trading session, propelled by improved market sentiments.
By midday, the benchmark KSE-100 Index hovered at 58,035.58, marking a 1.16% surge, an increase of 664.00 points.
Wednesday saw widespread buying across various sectors, with automobile assemblers, cement, chemical, commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies, and OMCs all trading positively.
This bullish trend aligns with Pakistan’s enhanced economic indicators and the successful negotiations between the interim government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the first review, expected to unlock $700 million in funding. Analysts anticipate this review will further attract inflows from other multilateral and bilateral partners.
CEO of Topline Securities, Mohammed Sohail, described the PSX’s rapid recovery as unsurprisingly swift, noting a remarkable 50% return in USD terms within six months. He emphasized that despite this growth, the market’s PE ratio remains considerably low at 3-4 times, indicating ample room for further advancement.
New day, new high. Index 58000. But prices still low
From marketcap of USD20b to now close to USD30b
One of the fastest but not unexpected recovery at Pakistan Stock Exchange.
50% return in UD dollars in 6 months. After 6 bad years
And the good thing is… This recovery has…
— Mohammed Sohail (@sohailkarachi) November 22, 2023
Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue, and Economic Affairs, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, echoed this positivity during the Donor Coordination Committee meeting at the Ministry of Economic Affairs. She reported encouraging signs of economic recovery, forecasting a GDP growth between 2 to 2.5% in the fiscal year 2024 despite external challenges such as global financial conditions and rising commodity prices. The successful review of the IMF staff-level agreement stood out as a significant milestone amidst these factors impacting Pakistan’s economy.
