Pakistan Stock Market crosses historic 101,350-Point milestone
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) achieved a historic milestone on Thursday as its benchmark KSE-100 Index surged past the 101,350-point mark, reflecting growing investor confidence amidst improving political stability, economic outlook, and lower inflation projections. The index gained 1,274.55 points, or 1.27%, to close at 101,357.32 points after touching an intraday high of 101,496.17 points.
Investor optimism was fueled by the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) receipt of $500 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the Climate Change and Disaster Resilience Enhancement Program (CDREP). This inflow is expected to push SBP reserves to approximately $12 billion by the end of November 2024, boosting market sentiment.
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The banking sector maintained its upward momentum, rising 1.8% as investor interest grew following the removal of the Minimum Deposit Rate (MDR) requirement for corporate deposits. Among the top traded stocks by value were Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) with Rs1.93 billion, Pakistan State Oil (PSO) with Rs1.88 billion, The Searle Company (SEARL) with Rs1.63 billion, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC) with Rs1.53 billion, and Attock Refinery Limited (ATRL) with Rs1.29 billion.
Topline Securities identified the primary contributors to the index’s rise as PPL, Service Industries Limited (SRVI), Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL), Engro Corporation (ENGRO), and SEARL, collectively adding 400 points to the surge. In terms of trading volume, Bank of Punjab (BOP) led with 95 million shares traded.
The PSX’s rally reflects a remarkable 60% year-to-date gain, driven by a combination of 47% capital gains and 13% dividend yields. Analysts attributed the market’s stellar performance to key reforms aimed at turning fiscal and external deficits into surpluses, as well as a drop in business costs, declining yields, and falling inflation expectations.
The Finance Division’s Monthly Economic Update projected inflation to slow to 5.8%-6.8% in November and further to 5.6%-6.5% in December. This comes after the central bank slashed interest rates by 250 basis points earlier in November to revitalize the economy.
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