ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged to a record high on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the 138,000 mark for the first time in its history, setting a new record high.
The bullish sentiment prevailed throughout the session, driving the index to an intraday peak of 138,943.47.
By the close of trading, the KSE-100 Index had gained 2,285.53 points, or 1.68%, to settle at 138,665.49.
Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery.
Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, PSO, SNGPL, MARI, OGDC, POL, UBL, and NBP, traded in green.
On Thursday, a total of 780,007,655 shares were traded during the day as compared to 705,955,999 shares the previous trading day, whereas the price of shares stood at PKR 39.975 billion against PKR 32.185 billion on the last trading day.
As many as 486 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 306 of them recorded gains and 154 sustained losses, whereas the share price of 26 companies remained unchanged.
The three top trading companies were Pak International Bulk with 82,666,164 shares at PKR 10.09 per share, First Dawood Prop with 42,478,624 shares at PKR 7.00 per share and Ghani Chemworld with 26,020,919 shares at PKR 13.21 per share.
PIA Holding Company LimitedB witnessed a maximum increase of PKR 3,480.96 per share price, closing at PKR 38,290.52, whereas Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited was the runner-up with a PKR 281.14 rise in its per share price to PKR 24,199.14.
Pakistan Engineering Company Limited witnessed a maximum decline of PKR 35.79 per share, closing at PKR 740.00, followed by Bhanero Textile Mills Limited with a drop of PKR 16.48 in its share price to close at PKR 953.39.
On Wednesday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its upward trajectory, with the KSE-100 Index climbing 440 points, or 0.32%, to close at 136,380.
While investors engaged in selective profit-taking, interest remained strong in key growth sectors.
Global trend
Globally, Asian markets showed caution on Thursday as investors awaited earnings reports from major technology firms and remained uncertain about the future of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s leadership.
Chipmaker TSMC, a leading producer of advanced AI semiconductors, is expected to report record-high second-quarter profits.
In regional markets, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.06%, while Japan’s Nikkei dipped 0.24%.
In contrast, European markets showed early strength: EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.56%, while FTSE and DAX futures each gained around 0.4%.
Meanwhile, US stock futures softened slightly, with both Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures down 0.1%.
