By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Stocks soared to a new record high on Friday, crossing the 55,000 level for the first time, as investors anticipated a cut in the policy rate and welcomed the progress in the talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Pakistan Stock Exhange (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index jumped 2.1 percent or 1,132 points to close at 55,015.76 points, the highest level in its history. It was the biggest daily gain in both percentage and point terms since July 3, 2023.
The index also recorded the highest trading volume with 372.306 million shares changing hands, while the overall market turnover was Rs21.15 billion.
Analysts said the market was driven by the outcome of the Pakistan Investment Bond (PIB) auction on Wednesday, where yields dropped by up to 180 basis points from the previous auction, signalling that the market was anticipating a rate cut in the near future.
“The PIB auction result led the rally. Big fall in Pakistan bond yields signal market now expecting a rate cut may be sooner than expected,” said Mohammed Sohail, chief executive officer at Topline Securities.
The market witnessed broad-based buying, with index-heavy sectors such as power generation and distribution, fertiliser, banks, cement, chemical, oil and gas exploration and production, and oil marketing companies trading in the green.
The index was supported by power generation & distribution with 221.72, fertilizer with 174.65, commercial banks with 165.09, cement with 117.14, and oil & gas exploration companies with 111.36 points.
The top performers were Hub Power Company, which added 185.01 points to the index, followed by Engro Fertilisers, Oil and Gas Development Company, MCB Bank, and Meezan Bank.
Out of the 100 index companies, 77 closed up, 17 closed down, three were unchanged, while three remained untraded.
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