PSX briefly touches 61,000 milestone in intraday trade

The benchmark index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its record-breaking rally and crossed the 61,000 milestone briefly on Wednesday.

According to the PSX website, the KSE-100 index briefly touched 61,412.41 points in early morning trade, up 682.15 or 1.12 per cent from the previous close of 60,730.26.

However, at closing time, the index shed much of its gains and traded in the red. The benchmark index closed at 60,501.99, decreasing by 228.27, or 0.38pc, from the previous close.

According to analysts, the rally in stock prices witnessed since the beginning of 2023-24 has been one of the fastest in the last two decades. Yesterday, the benchmark of representative shares had galloped higher and crossed the 60,000 barrier.

Dollar inflows, especially from overseas corporate investors, have helped sustain the bull run that has tossed the index up by more than 38 per cent in the last five months alone.

Speaking to Dawn.com, Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited, said, “Profit taking was witnessed in the market today after a consecutive positive streak of 7 sessions with 6.4pc gains (plus 3,667 points).”

He added, “Correction is always healthy for the market and we believe that the positive momentum of the market will continue going forward.”

Speaking to Dawn.com, Topline Securities chief executive Mohammed Sohail attributed today’s hike in early morning trade to foreign buying ahead of the MSCI review, which provides global indices for passive investments, on November 30.

“Moreover, expectations of further reduction in yields in today’s T-bill auction is also a good news for local investors,” he said, explaining that the reduction in yields is an indication of a decrease in interest rates.

Sana Tawfik, deputy head of research at Arif Habib Limited, said the bullish momentum will continue in near term and may get further boost once the International Monetary Fund’s executive board approves the first review of the $3bn Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) leading to disbursement of about $700 million on Dec 8.

She also highlighted that another positive development that took place today was the announcement of the quarterly GDP growth rate.

For the first time, the National Accounts Committee (NAC) has issued GDP quarterly numbers which showcased growth of 2.13pc for the first quarter of July-September 2023-24. The NAC also approved the industry-wise methodology of compiling the quarterly GDP — an exercise supported by local and international think tanks and multilateral institutions.

Tawfik further said that the expectations of yields going down in the T-bill auction also played the role of a catalyst in today’s brief rise in trade volume.