The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its bullish streak on Tuesday, with the KSE-100 index gaining an impressive 892 points.
This surge propelled the index to stand at an all-time 79,717.31 points high during intra-day as of 2:18 PM, marking a substantial 1.12% increase from the previous 78,825 points.
Earlier on Friday, the PSX reclaimed the title of the world’s best-performing market in the outgoing fiscal year 2023-24, with a remarkable cumulative increase of 89% (or 94% in US dollar terms) after the market closed at an all-time high of 78,445 points.
The market made history multiple times throughout the year, achieving record gains primarily in June 2024. Market capitalization, or the total value of all shares, hit a record high of over Rs10 trillion.
Read PSX continues its record-breaking spree
Yesterday, the PSX opened the new fiscal year on a positive note, gaining nearly 380 points. Initially lackluster with an intra-day low of 78,427.79 points, the market picked up momentum throughout the day with the KSE-100 index benchmark rising by 675 points driving the bulls to stand at 79,120.
The uptrend was primarily driven by a modest Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation of 12.6% year-on-year in June 2024 and expectations of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan agreement worth $6-8 billion.
“Stocks closed higher amid thin CPI inflation at 12.6% in June 2024 and the finance minister’s affirmation of a larger and longer bailout agreement with the IMF this month in the wake of positive talks for a $6-8 billion loan,” said Ahsan Mehanti, MD of Arif Habib Corp.
Muhammad Sohail, CEO of Topline Securities noted that the market witnessed five initial public offerings (IPOs) in FY24 compared to only one in FY23. Foreign investors bought T-bills worth over $300 million in FY24 (11 months of data) compared to selling $41 million in FY23.
