KSE-100 near 60,000 points as rally shows no signs of slowing

KARACHI: Stocks continued their record-breaking run on Monday, with the benchmark index closing just shy of the 60,000-point mark as frenzied traders piled into an unprecedented blistering rally.

Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index gained 725 points or 1.23 percent to close at 59,811.34. Analysts said the equities market has been thriving since the successful first review with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will lead to the release of the next loan tranche.

Caretaker Finance Minister Dr. Shamshad Akhtar also said she hopes the IMF tranche will serve as a catalyst for subsequent contributions from other bilateral donors of around $1.5 billion.

The index traded in a range of 896.77 points, with an intraday high of 59,896.08 (+809.73) and a low of 58,999.31 (-87.04) points. The total volume of the KSE-100 Index was 276.858 million shares.

"Stocks traded at new all-time highs amid institutional interest in scrips across the board as investors weigh strong economic data on falling current account deficit and surging foreign remittances," said analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp.

"The imminent IMF board approval due for the first tranche next week, over $700 million disbursement after the IMF's completion of the first quarterly review under SBA, and expected deliberations over SIFC initiatives during the prime minister's visit to the UAE played a catalytic role in the record surge."

The index witnessed range-bound trading in the first few hours of the session as it hit an intra-day low of 58,999.31. However, a strong buying-spree in the second part of the day helped the index gain ground.

Brokerage Topline Securities said the week began on a positive note for the market, as the index recorded a significant surge of 1.23 percent, approaching the psychological milestone of 60,000 points level.

"Throughout the trading day, the index exhibited a range of 896 points, reaching an intraday high of 59,896 (+809) and a low of 58,999 (-87) points."

Key contributors to the positive momentum were sectors such as banks and cement, with prominent stocks like HBL, UBL, MCB, DGKC, and LUCK collectively adding 388 points to the index. On the flip side, MARI, MEBL, and SYS collectively dampened some gains, resulting in a loss of 105 points. KOSM led the trading volume for the day, witnessing 109.3 billion shares changing hands.

Overall, the market demonstrated robust activity, with a total trading volume of 657 million shares, translating to a value of Rs20 billion. On first session of new week, of the 100 index companies 65 closed up, 26 closed down, 3 were unchanged, while 6 remained untraded.

KSE-100 index was supported by commercial banks with 378.58, cement with 109.55, miscellaneous with 53.16, textile composite with 40.42, and fertilizer with 34.11 points.

Companies adding points to the index were HBL with 135.43, UBL with 102.03, MCB with 83.03, PSEL with 38.45, and LUCK with 35.27 points.

Sectors contributing negatively included technology & communication with 36.16, chemical with 7.53, oil & gas Marketing companies with 5.36, glass & ceramics with 3.82, and Inv. banks/Inv. Cos. /securities cos. with 3.62 points and companies contributing negatively in the index lower were MARI with 36.87, MEBL with 34.36, SYS with 33.44, PSO with 11.47 and NESTLE with 8.08 points.