KSE-100 powers past 74,000 with over 730-point gain

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its merry-run on Tuesday as the benchmark KSE-100 gained over 730 points to close above 74,000.

The KSE-100 started the session on a positive note, and the bulls remained dominated throughout the session, especially in the final hours.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 74,531.19, up by 732.08 points or 0.99%.

On Monday, PSX witnessed a bullish session as its benchmark KSE-100 closed nearly 1% higher to settle at 73,799.11, up by 713.61 points.

Buying was witnessed on Tuesday in sectors including commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, and refinery.

Index-heavy stocks of OGDC, PPL, PSO, SNGPL, HBL and NBP traded in the green.

Investors attributed the buying spree to progress in talks between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Pakistani authorities about a new programme.

In a key development, Wall Street bank Citi said it expects Pakistan to reach an agreement with the IMF for a new four-year programme of up to $8 billion by end-July.

“A larger and longer IMF EFF (Extended Fund Facility) program could be finalised by July – possibly a $7-8 billion 4-year program and secondly and a possible inflow of Saudi investments,” Nikola Apostolov at Citi wrote in a note to clients.

Meanwhile, the government of Pakistan on Monday kick-started the discussions on further engagement with the Fund.

According to the Finance Division’s official statement, the IMF mission led by Nathan Porter, IMF Mission Chief called on the finance minister on Monday at the Finance Ministry.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee remained largely stable against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the local unit settled at 278.18, a gain of Re0.02 against the greenback, as per the State Bank of Pakistan.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 574.18 million from 721.6 million a session ago.

The value of shares declined to Rs23.42 billion from Rs25.65 billion in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 35.48 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 29.9 million shares, and K-Electric Ltd with 28.17 million shares.

Shares of 388 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 190 registered an increase, 178 recorded a fall, while 20 remained unchanged.