The Pakistan Stock Exchange set a new milestone on Thursday, crossing the psychological barrier of 67,000 points. The index began the day at its highest-ever closing point of 66,547.78 points, achieved on Wednesday. The index maintained its pace into Thursday, shooting up 698.24 points to an intraday high of 67,246.02 points by noon. The index steadied before completing the day 103.9 points lower, at 67,142.12 points.
This is the exchange’s highest-ever closing price. The index is gained 61% since July 2023, and 12% in the last three months. Continuing the positive momentum from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, economic reforms led by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), progress on selling off the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), and other loss-making state-owned enterprises, and an increase in gas tariffs all contributed to investor confidence.
Investors carefully expanded their equity portfolios by acquiring blue-chip stocks from a variety of sectors. The power, banking, and fertilizer industries all had a favorable impact on the index, with Bank AL Habib Limited, Engro (ENGRO), Muslim Commercial Bank, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), and Lucky Cement each adding 208 points to the bourse’s overall gain of 594.34 points.
Profit-taking was also noted in Systems Limited (SYS), Allied Bank Limited (ABL), and Service Industries Limited (SRVI), resulting in a total loss of 31 points.
Topline Securities said that Thursday’s trading session saw strong activity, with over 421.02 million shares traded at the bourse, totaling Rs16.1 billion. PTC, LOTCHEM, and TELE stood out on the volume chart, with trading volumes over 107 million shares.
