
PSX climbs to historic high at 124,379
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at another historic high on Friday as investor confidence soared following the approval of federal budget for FY26.
The benchmark KSE-100 index surged 2,332.60 points, or 1.91%, to settle at 124,379. 'The market rebounded strongly from Thursday's brief profit-taking phase, with bullish momentum prevailing throughout the session,' noted Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd. Institutional investors led the rally amid portfolio rebalancing and optimism about the economic direction set by the newly approved budget.
Investor sentiment was further buoyed by robust Roshan Digital Account (RDA) inflows, which reached $10.38 billion by May 2025. Monthly inflows rose 13% to $201 million while the number of accounts climbed to 823,224, reinforcing confidence in Pakistan's external account stability. Key index movers included Fauji Fertiliser Company, Lucky Cement, Meezan Bank, Pakistan Oilfields and Engro Holdings, which collectively contributed 866 points to the day's gains.
Market breadth remained strong, with 773 million shares traded valuing at Rs37.6 billion. Bank Makramah led the volumes chart with 79.7 million shares changing hands. The benchmark index posted a weekly gain of 3.63%, or 4,356 points, over five sessions.
After opening at 118,272, the index touched a high of 125,285 and a low of 115,887, closing well above the key 120,000 psychological mark. Market analysts view the KSE-100's ability to hold above the 122,000 level as a sign of strong momentum.
A sustained stability above 120,000 could pave the way for a fresh rally towards 130,000, driven by improving macroeconomic indicators and rising investor confidence.
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Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Stock market soars 3.6% in historic rally
Listen to article Pakistan's stock market staged a strong recovery in the outgoing week, where the benchmark KSE-100 index surged 4,356 points, or 3.6% week-on-week (WoW), to close at 124,379.06. The rally came after investor sentiment improved sharply following a ceasefire announcement in the Middle East, easing geopolitical concerns and stabilising oil prices. Despite a cautious start, the index recorded its second-largest single-day gain on Tuesday, surging 6,079 points (+5.23%). Meanwhile, economic developments, including the passage of Finance Bill 2025, a $4.5 billion commercial loan to address power sector debt and a sharp fall in State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) reserves, remained in focus. On a day-on-day basis, the PSX faced a sharp sell-off on Monday as escalating geopolitical tensions rattled investor confidence and triggered panic selling. The KSE-100 index recorded a plunge of 3,856 points, or 3.21%, and settled at 116,167. On Tuesday, peace in the Middle East ignited a rally and the local bourse rebounded on ceasefire optimism, posting a historic second-highest gain of over 6,000 points by ending the day's affairs at 122,247 (+5.23%) and reconquering the 120k psychological level. However, the market had a range-bound day on Wednesday. The index mostly remained positive, during which it touched intra-day high of 123,257 (+0.83%) and low of 122,169 (-0.06%). It ended the day at 122,762, up 515 points, or 0.42%. After a surge of almost 6,600 points (+5.7%) in two sessions post Iran-Israel ceasefire, the PSX had a profit-taking day on Thursday. Resultantly, the index wrapped up the session at 122,047 by shedding 715 points, or 0.58%. Nonetheless, the market resumed its bullish momentum on last trading day of the week and the KSE-100 ended at 124,379 with impressive gains of 2,333 points, or 1.91%. Robust buying by institutional investors provided boost, driven by expectations of FY26 equity reallocations and budget approval by the National Assembly. Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in its weekly report, said the market opened under pressure in the outgoing week as investor sentiment turned cautious amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, driving uncertainty across global markets and weighing on the KSE-100 index. However, following news of a ceasefire on Tuesday, the market staged a strong rebound, recording its second-largest single-day gain of 6,079 points (+5.23%). On the economic front, it mentioned, the SBP raised Rs345 billion in T-bill auction against the target of Rs650 billion, where yields dropped 3-9 basis points across all tenors. Additionally, Rs251.5 billion was raised through the government of Pakistan Ijara Sukuk, which exceeded the target of Rs175 billion. Power generation in May 2025 rose 1% year-on-year (YoY) to 12,755 gigawatt hours (GWh), while cumulative Roshan Digital Account (RDA) gross inflows reached $10.4 billion as of May. Meanwhile, SBP's foreign exchange reserves declined by $2.66 billion to $9.06 billion, primarily due to external debt repayments, including commercial borrowings. Pakistani rupee depreciated by 2 paisa WoW to close at 283.72 against the US dollar, AHL said. Sectors that contributed positively to the stock market were commercial banks (1,120 points), cement (691 points), fertiliser (629 points), exploration & production (577 points) and glass and ceramics (146 points). Meanwhile, sector-wise, negative contribution mainly came from miscellaneous (84 points). Among individual stocks, positive contribution came from Lucky Cement (382 points), Fauji Fertiliser Company (357 points), UBL (319 points), Meezan Bank (316 points) and OGDC (192 points). Scrip-wise, negative contributors were Pakistan Services (133 points), Pakgen Power (96 points), International Steels (7 points), Colgate-Palmolive (6 points) and SNGPL (5 points). Foreign selling was witnessed during the week under review, which came in at $11.78 million compared with net buying of $0.46 million last week. Wadee Zaman of JS Global noted that the KSE-100 index gained 3.6% WoW, driven by easing tensions in the Middle East amid a ceasefire announcement by the US president, which also helped cool off oil prices after recent spikes. Average daily turnover fell 10% WoW. On the economic front, he said, the National Assembly passed the Finance Bill 2025 with a total outlay of Rs17.6 trillion. Separately, the government secured a $4.5 billion loan from commercial banks to address power-sector circular debt at Karachi Inter-bank Offered Rate (Kibor) minus 0.9%, in line with IMF conditions.


Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
KSE-100 beats US, India & Germany to emerge among top global performers in FY25
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) emerged as one of the top-performing stock markets in the world during FY25, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index delivering a robust 55.5% return in USD terms, securing the third spot globally, revealed Arif Habib Limited (AHL) in its latest report. Only Ghana's GGSECI Index, offering a 140.7% return and Slovenia's SBITOP Index (56.7%) performed better than KSE-100 during the outgoing fiscal year, data released by the brokerage house showed. In comparison to other global markets, Pakistan outperformed major developed and emerging economies. The US Nasdaq Index returned 14%, Germany's DAX 46.9%, India's Sensex 3.2%, and Japan's Nikkei 12.8%. Most regional markets trailed far behind, with countries like Turkey and Bangladesh posting negative returns of -28.1% and -13.6% respectively. During the outgoing fiscal, the KSE-100 Index delivered a stellar performance, surging by 58.6% in PKR terms and an impressive 55.5% in USD terms to close at 124,379, up from 78,445 at the end of FY24. 'This remarkable rally was driven by aggressive monetary easing, improved market liquidity, and the unlocking of fundamental value across key sectors,' said AHL. Regional portfolio investment As per the report, widespread net selling by foreigners was observed across all listed regions in FY25. Taiwan recorded the highest outflow at $28,783 million, followed by South Korea at $23,577 million, and India at $11,263 million. Outflows were also seen in Malaysia at $3,546 million, Vietnam at $3,101 million, and Thailand at $3,207 million. Relatively smaller net sells were recorded in Indonesia at $1,634 million, Philippines at $477 million. Meanwhile, Pakistan saw an outflow of $300 million. 'Possible reasons for this uniform net selling trend include geopolitical tensions, reciprocal tariffs announced by the US, high global interest rate initially prompting capital withdrawal, strong US dollar pressure, and a shift toward developed markets,' read the report.


Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
Stocks emerge as best-performing asset class in Pakistan for FY25
Stocks emerged as the top-performing asset class in FY25 with a return exceeding 55%, led by aggressive monetary easing, improved market liquidity, and the unlocking of fundamental value across key sectors, said Arif Habib Limited (AHL). 'The KSE-100 exhibits the strongest performance across all asset classes, boasting a FY25 return of 55.58%, significantly outperforming gold (47.56%), T-Bills (12.68%), Defence Saving Certificates (12.61%), bank deposits (12.60%), PIBs (11.97%), and USD/PKR (1.91%),' AHL said, in its report on Friday. As per the brokerage house, the KSE-100's (benchmark index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange) returns consistently outshine those of other major asset categories. 'Even the historical gains from gold and T-Bills in recent times have been unable to match the impressive surge of the equity market.' It added that the KSE-100's CAGR, or Compound Annual Growth Rate, is higher than all other asset classes in every long-term benchmark, from a 5-year holding period to a 20-year holding period. 'This performance suggests that the KSE-100, particularly the equity market, is the most lucrative asset class for investors with a long-term horizon in Pakistan,' it added. KSE-100 in FY25 During the outgoing fiscal, the KSE-100 Index delivered a stellar performance, surging by 58.6% in PKR terms and an impressive 55.5% in USD terms to close at 124,379, up from 78,445 at the end of FY24. 'This remarkable rally was driven by aggressive monetary easing, improved market liquidity, and the unlocking of fundamental value across key sectors,' said AHL. The brokerage house shared that FY25 also witnessed record market participation, with the highest-ever trading volumes and the highest traded value since FY21. During FY25, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) slashed the policy rate from 21.5% to 11%, marking one of the most aggressive easing cycles in the country's history. Moreover, Fitch Ratings upgraded Pakistan's credit rating from CCC+ to B- following successful staff-level agreements with the IMF on the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility and the $1.3 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility. Meanwhile, the PKR depreciated by a modest 1.9% against the USD FY25. However, despite the gains, geopolitical tensions jolted the market during the year, with sharp declines triggered by escalations between Pakistan and India in May'25, and Iran and Israel in Jun'25. 'However, subsequent ceasefires fueled some of the strongest market rallies in recent history,' it said.