The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) registered new records on Tuesday as the benchmark KSE-100 index crossed the 60,000-point level for the first time in history.
At 11:25am, the benchmark index was hovering at 60,730.87, an increase of 919.53 points or 1.54%.
Across-the-board buying was witnessed in index-heavy sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, chemical, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies as well as OMCs.
On Monday, the bourse continued to set new records as the benchmark index gained another 1.23% to settle at 59,811.34, up by 724.99 points.
The buying spree comes on the back of a staff-level agreement reached between Pakistani authorities and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the first review under the nine-month $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).
The government believes the IMF’s executive board will give its approval in December, after which Pakistan will receive the second tranche of the SBA.
The funding would also pave way for inflows from other multilateral and bilateral partners.
“Pakistan’s KSE-100 index has gained 50% in only 5 months,” said Mohammed Sohail, CEO at Topline Securities, in a post.
“From 40k to 60k. This is the fastest 50% rise in few months after 2004.”
Sohail said that amid “unbelievable low valuation (PE 3-4), such recovery is not at all surprising”.
“The ongoing positive trend at the bourse reflects the investors’ growing confidence as the equities market is a leading indicator,” Sana Tawfik of Arif Habib Limited (AHL), told Business Recorder.
Tawfik was of the view that the bullish momentum is expected to continue after disbursement of funds from the IMF.
“Moreover, there are talks of an interest rate cut, which will be another positive as it will improve the liquidity position,” she added.
This is an intra-day update
Source: brecorder.com
