Stocks gain 960.33 points on refinery boost, tax reform hopes

KARACHI: Positive developments in the refinery sector and the government’s plan to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio in the upcoming budget fuelled a bullish trend at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday.

The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 119,931.45, gaining 960.33 points or 0.81 per cent. The index remained in positive territory throughout the session, hitting an intraday high of 120,106.21 (+1,135.09 points) and a low of 119,128.38 (+157.26 points). Total trading volume on the KSE-100 index stood at 280.86 million shares.

“Stocks closed near an all-time high amid pre-budget speculation,” said Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp. He attributed the rally to government assurances on tax relief for oil refineries, including sales tax exemptions and the unlocking of $6 billion in infrastructure upgrades. He added that a surge in global crude oil prices and the government’s measures to increase tax collection to 12.6 per cent of GDP -- thereby easing the fiscal deficit -- also acted as key catalysts.

However, auto sector stocks came under pressure amid reports of IMF-driven tariff relaxations on used vehicle imports proposed in the FY26 federal budget, along with a new National Tariff Policy favouring imports, he noted. The PSX opened with strong momentum as the KSE-100 Index surged past the 120,000 mark, peaking at an intraday gain of over 1,100 points, according to a post-trading note by Topline Securities. However, the index could not maintain the high and settled just below the milestone, still recording impressive gains.

Topline said investor sentiment was buoyant, particularly in large-cap stocks. Notably, NBP, BAHL, UBL, OGDC, and PPL collectively contributed around 480 points to the index’s rise. Refinery stocks also attracted significant interest following the government’s approval to clear Rs34 billion in pending dues through adjustments in petroleum pricing. This move will allow all five refineries to begin $6 billion in upgrade projects. As a result, shares of NRL, PRL, and ATRL closed higher.

Market participation remained strong, with traded volume reaching 667 million shares and the total traded value standing at Rs26.61 billion. K-Electric (KE) led the volume chart, with 103 million shares traded. Out of the 100 index companies, 66 closed higher, 31 declined, and 3 remained unchanged.

Top gainers during Wednesday’s session included POML (+10 per cent), NBP (+10 per cent), AGL (+10 per cent), KEL (+8.2 per cent), and PTC (+5.32 per cent). The main losers were SCBPL (-4.21 per cent), TPLRF1 (-2.61 per cent), JDWS (-1.87 per cent), NATF (-1.76 per cent), and MUGHAL (-1.74 per cent).

In terms of index point contribution, top supporters were NBP (+149.25 points), BAHL (+103.02 points), UBL (+91.29 points), OGDC (+87.15 points), and PPL (+50.11 points). The main draggers were LUCK (-26.16 points), HMB (-23.81 points), SCBPL (-16.51 points), MCB (-14.01 points), and TPLRF1 (-13.56 points).

Sector-wise, the KSE-100 index was buoyed by commercial banks (+412.55 points), oil and gas exploration companies (+171.85 points), power generation & distribution (+68.02 points), technology & communication (+55.1 points), and refinery (+50.57 points). Sectors that negatively impacted the index included engineering (-12.42 points), real estate investment trust (-10.59 points), sugar & allied industries (-5.07 points), paper, board & packaging (-2.94 points), and tobacco (-2.56 points).