KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a strong recovery on Tuesday after declining in four consecutive sessions. The benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 1,345 points as investors found value at the dip.
The KSE-100 surged by 1,344.95 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 113,088.48 points, up from the 111,743.53 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 113,252.55 points, while the lowest level was recorded at 111,642.02 points.
Ahsan Mehanti, an analyst at Arif Habib Corp, said, “Stocks closed bullish as investors speculated over ongoing World Bank and IMF talks following the World Bank’s approval of a $40 billion investment under the country partnership framework”.
He said the rally was driven by surging global crude oil prices, robust textile export data showing year-on-year increase in January 2025, and strong earnings in the fertiliser, cement and banking sectors.
Additionally, expectations of further policy easing by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) amid moderate inflation contributed to the bullish close at the PSX. The KSE-30 index rose by 502.31 points or 1.44 per cent to 35,308.90 points against 34,806.59 points.
Traded shares increased by 34 million shares to 545.005 million shares from 511.194 million shares. The trading value rose to Rs20.741 billion from Rs19.635 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs13.948 trillion against Rs13.787 trillion. Of the 446 companies active in the session, 255 closed in the green, 139 in the red, and 52 remained unchanged.
Analyst Naveed Nadeem at Topline Securities said the KSE 100 index experienced a pullback and ended on a positive note. The index reached a high of 113,253 points, dipped to an intra-day low of 111,642 points, and closed at 113,088 points, gaining 1,345 points or 1.20 per cent.
The increase was primarily driven by LUCK, ENGRO, OGDC, EFERT, and PPL, which together contributed 608 points to the overall gain. The highest increase was recorded in Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited, which rose by Rs140.28 to Rs9,529.61 per share, followed by Lucky Cement Limited, which increased by Rs55.35 to Rs1,459.65 per share. A significant decline was noted in PIA Holding Company LimitedB, which fell by Rs92.80 to Rs853.54 per share, Sapphire Fibres Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs59.44 to Rs1,039.96 per share.
Analyst Muhammad Hasan Ather at JS Global said the robust recovery in the KSE-100 Index reflects positive investor sentiment driven by strong earnings reports from major banks and optimism surrounding ongoing energy sector reforms. “Anticipation of further positive results from the E&Ps and significant gains in the cement sector also contributed to the rally”, he said.
He said that market sentiment is expected to remain positive given the current momentum. “Continued strong earnings and anticipated sectoral reforms should keep investor confidence buoyed in the near term”, he said.
Bank of Punjab remained the volume leader with 200.841 million shares, which closed higher by Rs1.06 to Rs13.23 per share. Power Cement, with 25.779 million shares, followed it, which closed lower by 5 paisas to Rs10.71 per share.
Other significant turnover stocks included WorldCall Telecom, PTCL, TPL Properties, K-Electric Ltd, DGK Cement, Sui South Gas, National Bank XD and Cnergyico PK. In the futures market, 320 companies recorded trading, 245 of which increased, 71 decreased and 4 remained unchanged.