KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its remarkable upward momentum on Friday, bolstered by increasing investor optimism amidst signs of easing inflation within the country.
The market opened on a high note, surpassing 179,000-point mark for the first time in history, achieving a record intraday peak. This surge was supported by investor anticipation of upcoming corporate earnings announcements, an appreciating rupee, and growing expectations of further monetary easing by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), spurred on by a milder Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading for December.
The KSE-100 Index, PSX’s benchmark, reached an intraday high of 179,016.88—a jump of 2,661.39 points or 1.51%—before slightly pulling back to 176,709.51. Even after this dip, the index closed with an increase of 354.02 points or 0.2%.
On Thursday, the benchmark index had already exhibited bullish momentum, gaining 2,301.17 points (1.32%) to close at 176,355.49 points—up from 174,054.32 points recorded during Wednesday’s session, as per PSX data.
The trading session observed a significant uptick in activity, with a ready market share volume of 1,402.65 million and a traded value of Rs 48.424 billion, compared to 957.239 million shares worth Rs 44.231 billion traded in the prior session.
Out of 485 companies active in the ready market, 337 closed higher, 116 declined, and 32 remained unchanged.
