Pak-US trade deal lifts PSX to historic high

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a historic surge on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index breaching the 140,000-point mark for the first time in its history, closing at 140,077 points after Pakistan and the US finalized a trade deal, reported 24NewsHD TV Channel. 

The index surged by 1,650 points during intra-day trading, restoring two key psychological levels — 139,000 and 140,000 — simultaneously. Market sentiment appeared to be largely driven by news of a trade agreement between Pakistan and the United States, which analysts believe could pave the way for fresh foreign investment and exploration of new reserves.

The buyers at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) were over the moon on Thursday after Pakistan and the US finalized a trade deal, that saw the share prices soaring. By noon, the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 index gained 1,448.03 points or 1.04 percent to 139,860.28 points.

Of the total 465 companies traded so far, share prices of 299 companies were up and that of 149 were down while 17 remained unchanged.

Across-the-board buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile, cement, commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, refinery and power generation. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, PSO, SNGPL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL and SSGC traded in the green.

Analysts attributed the buying spree to investor optimism after the US and Pakistan struck a deal that will result in lower tariffs for the South Asian nation, as well as an agreement in which Washington will help develop Islamabad’s oil reserves.

In a video message on Thursday, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb termed the trade deal a “win-win” situation for both countries. “We are in a good place today in Pakistan, in terms of where we have arrived before August 1. We have come a long way in terms of our overall strategic partnership between Pakistan and the United States,” he said.

On Wednesday, the PSX had experienced a mixed day of trading with some indices posting gains as the State Bank of Pakistan kept the policy rate unchanged at 11 percent.

The KSE-100 index rose by 447.43 points, or 0.32%, reaching 138,412.25 points from its previous close of 137,964.82 points.

 
Reporter Kavish Memon