By The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its strong performance on Friday, with the KSE 100 index reaching a new milestone of 109,000, driven by surging foreign exchange reserves and the rollover of a key Saudi deposit.
According to Ahsan Mehanti from Arif Habib Corporation, the oil and banking sectors led the bull run as investors speculated ahead of the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) policy rate announcement next week. Additionally, Pakistan’s finance minister assured the International Monetary Fund (IMF)‘s new country representative that fiscal slippages would be addressed before the upcoming biannual review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) in February.
Stock Market Rally and Record High
The KSE 100 index surged by 1,239.12 points, hitting a record high of 109,478.09 points before closing at 109,053.95, a gain of 814.98 points or 0.75% on a day-to-day basis.
Topline Securities Ltd attributed the rally to the extension of a $3 billion deposit by Saudi Arabia for another year, which provided much-needed support to Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves.
Sectoral Performance and Investor Activity
Market activity was robust, driven by institutional buying. Engro Corporation, United Bank, Meezan Bank, Dawood Hercules, and Mari Petroleum were the top contributors to the index, accounting for a combined 956 points.
Ali Najib, Head of Sales at Insight Securities, pointed out that the extension of the Saudi deposit, the increase in reserves surpassing $16 billion, and strong buying from mutual funds contributed significantly to the market’s bullish momentum.
Almost all major sectors, including fertiliser, banks, technology, exploration and production, cement, and pharma, saw significant investor interest.
Trading Volume and Notable Stocks
The trading volume rose by 3.07% to 1.69 billion shares, while the traded value fell by 9.08% to Rs57.48 billion.
Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom (368.90 million shares), The Bank of Punjab (115.55 million shares), Cnergyico PK (93.63 million shares), Pak Elektron (60.24 million shares), and Power Cement (58.99 million shares).
Top Gainers and Losers
The companies that saw the most significant price increases in absolute terms included Rafhan Maize (Rs422.41), Sapphire Fibres (Rs55.98), Khyber Textile (Rs47.82), PNSC (Rs37.21), and Engro Corporation (Rs34.24).
Meanwhile, the shares with the largest price decreases included Unilever Foods (Rs64.41), Pakistan Tobacco (Rs23.06), Thal Ltd (Rs16.31), Millat Tractors (Rs14.22), and Bestway Cement (Rs13.69).
