PSX's push to close above 77,000 mark dashed by profit-selling

KARACHI: Stocks on Friday extended the post-budget rally to cross the 77,000 points mark, but eleventh-hour exits pared half of intraday gains, traders said, as investors harvested profits in an overbought market that gained a staggering 4.69% a day after the tabling of Finance Bill FY25.

The benchmark KSE-100 shares index gained 498.61 points or 0.65% to close at a record 76,706.7 points as compared to Thursday's close of 76,208.16 points.

It gained 1,005.15 or 1.32% to reach  77,213.31 in the intraday trade.

Intermarket Securities Director of Research Saad Ali, while speaking to Geo.tv, said that the market has rebounded sharply since the announcement of the budget 2024-25 as the feared increase in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) did not come through.

Moreover, the expectations of a revival of talks with the IMF for a new programme have resurfaced which is attributed to the market reacting positively, he added.

A day earlier, the stock market reached an all-time high of 76,208.16 points, showing an unprecedented giant leap of 3,410.73 points or 4.69%.

The budget aims for a modest 3.6% growth, a move seen as a delicate balancing act to satisfy the IMF while addressing the nation's fiscal challenges with heightened taxation.

It's been designed to strengthen the case for a new bailout deal from the IMF, as Pakistan seeks an estimated loan ranging from $6 billion to $8 billion, to avert default in an economy growing at the region's slowest pace.