Bulls Take Charge as PSX Hits all Time High

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a bullish trend on Thursday as the KSE-100 index registered a historic high, gaining nearly 600 points amid positive talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the privatization of state-owned enterprises.

The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 67,142.12 points, reflecting a change of 594.34 points, or 0.89%, up from the previous session's close of 66,547 points. The highest index of the day remained at 67,246.02 points, while the lowest level was recorded at 66,690.94 points.

Arif Habib Limited, a brokerage house, noted in a post on X that the PSX saw an all-time high when it crossed the 67,094-mark, which was the previous high on an intraday basis.

According to experts, the positive trend reflects recent economic developments such as Islamabad's successful talks with the IMF mission and the government's plans regarding privatization.

Earlier this week, the privatization and restructuring plan of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was approved by its board of directors, which was recently constituted.

Muhammad Sohail, an economic analyst, said the bullish trend reflects the newly elected government's swift moves towards privatization, which is a positive development for investors.

The analyst stated that the reason behind the bullish run was the smoothly conducted talks with the Fund's mission that visited Pakistan in mid-March and the discussion of another program as well with the global lender.

"Another reason why this has happened is due to news floating in the stock exchange about Pakistan's retention in the emerging market by FTSE — a United Kingdom-based index provider — which increased the focus of foreigners," he said.

Sohail added that Pakistan has received approximately $50 million worth of investment from foreign investors in PSX almost two months after the elections.

When asked if the government would implement any business-friendly policies, Khaqan Najeeb responded by saying that firstly, there is a stable government supported by the strong measures taken by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) for the last six months.

Secondly, he added, the IMF program provides an umbrella to Pakistan to deal with its international gross financing needs — which remains a perennial issue and is heightened at the moment, as the country requires $25 billion every year.

"There is macro-stability in the country," he said, adding that it is easier to understand with regards to the buildup in reserves and inflation trending downward, and Pakistan's current account, even though the economy has slowed down to manage it.

Commenting on state-owned enterprises (SOEs), Najeeb said that Pakistan has been compelled to address them.

He spoke about urging past governments to do something about loss-making SOEs. "This is a good push to take us out from PIA and focus towards the energy sector."

The expert added that foreign interest will turn to Pakistan after FTSE's status for the next six months. He also spoke about the benefits of other investment avenues in the country such as the property sector, which will also impact economic trends.

"Overall, it is a good developing picture for Pakistan if we can sustain it."