Bulls on Roar: PSX Summits Historic 100,000 Peak Amid ‘Economic, Political Gains’

PSX - The News Today - TNT

KARACHI: Bullish trends have took the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday morning to its new and historic height of 100,346 points on the heels of unprecedented streak of surge in the last one month or so.

The KSE-100 index, which is a key benchmark in PSX, has achieved one milestone after another in November 2024 amid recurring reports of economic stability mainly due to the recent loan disbursement by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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The reassuring agreement with the international lender and Pakistan economic czar Muhammad Aurangzeb’s subsequent announcement ruling out a mini-budget boosted investor confidence in recent times.

The stock surge also holds symbolic significance as it is considered an indicator of country’s economic trajectory.

The passage to the PSX milestone has not been without bumpers and roadblocks. The latest challenge in the journey came in the form of PTI’s trumpeted protest in Islamabad which created quite a stir in the stock market.

On Tuesday, a day that kept the state machinery on tenterhooks, the trade started on a negative note and the PSX plummeted to 94,181 points after ups and downs amid political uncertainty.

The KSE-100 index closed at 94,181 points after reduction of 3,506 points following days of surge.

Hours earlier, it came close to 100,000 mark by posting 99,820 points while defying political uncertainty.

The situation evolved after stocks plummeted during early morning trading. The KSE-100 index first came down to 97,538 after reduction of 541 points.

Later, it struck back and broke its own record, only to be on the retreat.

Bulls returned to the PSX on Wednesday and the KSE-100 index eventually closed at 99,269 points with an increase of 4,695 points or 4.96pc.

At the start of business, the KSE-100 index reached 98,160 points after gaining hefty 3,357 points.

The PSX began the first day of the week (Monday) on a positive note as the KSE-100 index surpassed 99,000 mark.

At one point, the KSE-100 index, with an increase of 1,294 points, touched 99,092 figure amid robust trading.

However, it came down to 97,954 around 11:30am. The figure oscillated and eventually the stocks closed at 98,089.

Bulls were at their raging best on Friday – last working week – when the KSE-100 index came close to the magic 100,000 mark.

The KSE-100 index peaked to 99,623.03 during trading but at midday the market lost some shine and closed at 98,972.43 points after losing 423 points to 1,644.04 (1.69%).

As Friday’s trading eventually came to a halt, the KSE-100 index settled at 97,798 points.

There was enhanced buying in multiple sectors including cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, pharmaceuticals and power generation.

Army chief Gen Asim Munir met businessmen in Karachi in the past week while attending IDEAS 2024 exhibition and reassured them of “both economic and political stability”.

One of the main reasons for surge in stock figure is economic stability, especially after the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) stated a few days ago that the IMF was satisfied with the 1.5 percent improvement in the tax-to GDP ratio.

“As a result, no-mini-budget will be introduced and there will be no imposition of General Sales Tax (GST) on petroleum products,” said an FBR official.

FBR sources say the annual tax target of Rs12,970 billion will be maintained. The tax-to GDP ratio has increased from 8.8 percent to 10.3 percent.

Read more: Bulls Roar Back: PSX Surges Over 3,700 Points, Crosses 99300 benchmark

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