Pakistan Stock Exchange soars to record high of 191,000 mark

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its buying rally with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing 190,000 mark, for the first time in history, ahead of the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting today (Monday) to decide the key policy rate, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

During early hours, the index was hovering at 191,032 points, registering an increase of 1,865 points or 0.88%. However, by the end of the day heavy profit-taking took over the proceedings leading the index to lose all the gains of the day and even more with index closing at 188,587.66 points, shedding 579.56 or minus 0.31 percent.

Out of 563 market companies, shares of 143 recorded gains, while 298 declined and 122 remained unchanged.

Buying interest was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, FFC, HBL and MCB, traded in the green.

The Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled to meet at 10:30 am under the chairmanship of the SBP governor to make the final decision regarding the key interest rate. The policy announcement will set the interest rate for the next two months.

The committee will also review various economic indicators, including imports, exports, large-scale manufacturing, and trade and fiscal deficits.

Additionally, factors such as remittances, foreign exchange reserves, crop production, and global oil prices will also be assessed.

Analysts are expecting further monetary easing in today’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting, with a policy rate cut of 50 to 100 bps.

In another key development, Pakistan is unlikely to achieve the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) projected 3.2% GDP growth for the current fiscal year as exports and investments continue to weaken.

Earlier on Friday, the stock market also reached a new milestone, pushing the benchmark KSE-100 index past 189,000 points as renewed investor interest picked up momentum.

The PSX closed at a record high, with the KSE-100 index finishing at 189,166.83 points, marking a gain of 1,478.67 points, or an increase of 0.79 percent.

Reporter: Kawish Memon