KARACHI: Continuing its flight from the preceding sessions, the Pakistan Stock Exchange benchmark index (PSX) reached a new high on Friday and crossed the 59,000 milestones.
At 10 a.m., the KSE-100 index on the PSX website stood at 59,402.82 points, reflecting a 502.98-point increase or 0.85% rise from the previous day’s close at 58,899.84. The benchmark index, comprising representative shares, has consistently gained momentum throughout the week, propelled by the positive macroeconomic outlook following the successful review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
The upcoming disbursement of IMF funds, scheduled for next month after the executive board meeting, constitutes the second tranche of a nine-month bailout package. This additional funding will bring the total disbursements under the $3 billion package, approved in July, to nearly $1.9 billion.
Speaking to the media, Raza Jafri, the Head of Equities at Intermarket Securities, said, “The market continues to make new highs on tailwinds provided by the government’s strong focus on the economy and reasonably well-managed risks for now.”
He emphasized that, despite the ongoing rally, the market’s valuations remain attractive, attributing the primary driver of the surge to the resumption of foreign buying.
In the preceding session, the KSE-100 index, the top performer in Asia, recorded a 1.2% increase, fueled by a robust economic outlook, a reduced current account deficit, and government initiatives to address the circular debt in the power sector, as noted by analyst Ahsan Mehanti.
Mehanti highlighted, “The surging exports, the continuing recovery of the rupee, forecasts of declining interest rates, and the positive trajectory of foreign exchange reserves, bolstered by the International Monetary Fund’s disbursement of the next tranche, played a pivotal role in achieving the record closing.”
