KARACHI: Stocks on Friday started the day on a positive note, marking a new milestone as the KSE-100 index crossed the 59,000 barrier for the first time in its history during intraday trading.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark index gained over 400 points to reach 59,397.44 points at 10:24am, up by 0.84% from yesterday’s close of 58,899.84 points.
Speaking to Geo.tv, Head of Equities at Intermarket Securities Raza Jafri said: “The market continues to make new highs on tailwinds provided by the government’s strong focus on the economy and reasonably well-managed risks for now.”
He further said that the valuations remain attractive despite the rally, crediting the resumption of foreign buying as the key driver behind the increase.
Capital market expert Saad Ali attributed the rally to interest rate cuts, low political risks around the upcoming elections and smooth continuation of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) without the demand for further tightening measures.
“Valuations still remain low by the historical average offering a greater upside,” he told Geo.tv.
A day earlier, Asia’s best-performing KSE-100 index rose 1.2% on a robust economic outlook, shrinking current account deficit, and government efforts to resolve power sector circular debt, said analyst Ahsan Mehanti.
“The surging exports, ongoing rupee recovery, projections on falling interest rates and improving foreign exchange reserves following the IMF disbursement of the next tranche played a catalytic role in the record close.”
Analyst Ali Najib at Topline Securities said the equities witnessed an unstoppable bull run where the benchmark index further gained over 1%.
