ISLAMABAD: Buying rally continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday with the benchmark KSE-100 Index settling at a new record high amid investors’ confidence.
Positive sentiment dominated much of the trading session, pushing the KSE-100 Index to an intra-day peak of 146,081.02.
By the close, the benchmark index had gained 558.64 points, or 0.39%, to settle at a new all-time high of 145,647.13.
On Thursday, a total of 712,527,450 shares were traded as compared to 788,463,721 shares on the last working day, whereas the price of shares stood at PKR 55.677 billion against PKR 52.780 billion on the previous trading day.
As many as 483 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 221 of them recorded gains and 235 met losses, whereas the share price of 27 companies remained unchanged.
Economic experts attribute the surge to renewed investor confidence, driven by the government’s prudent economic policies and a series of improving economic indicators. The market’s upward momentum is viewed as a reflection of increasing optimism about the country’s economic outlook.
On Wednesday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its record-breaking rally, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index surging by 2,051 points, or 1.43%, to close at an all-time high of 145,088.50.
Global market trend
Asian stock markets advanced on Thursday, with Japanese shares reaching record highs, driven by tech-led gains on Wall Street, strong corporate earnings, and growing optimism over potential US interest rate cuts.
Investor sentiment was further supported by the possibility of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine. This development lifted the euro while putting pressure on oil prices, as traders assessed the potential impact on sanctions against Moscow.
Markets appeared largely unfazed by Trump’s latest tariff threats, which included a proposed 25% levy on India over its purchases of Russian oil and a possible 100% tariff on semiconductor chips.
Japan’s broad Topix index climbed 0.9% to a new all-time high, while the tech-heavy Nikkei posted a similar gain.
South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.6%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.4%, and mainland China’s blue-chip index edged up 0.3%.
