On Monday, Pakistan’s equity market continued its rally, climbing past the 156,000 level in intraday trade to set another all-time high. This was driven by positive investor sentiment in response to fresh liquidity and optimism surrounding new policy initiatives.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 156,087.30 points, marking an increase of 1,810.11 points, or 1.17%, from the previous close of 154,277.19.
Market Drivers and Government Confidence
Ahfaz Mustafa, CEO of Ismail Iqbal Securities, stated that “A successful SCO meeting, the impending circular debt resolution, along with ample liquidity in the market, is the driving force behind the rally.” He added that “a lot of SOEs that generally traded cheaply are realizing their market-based values and causing the rally.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed satisfaction with the market’s record-breaking performance, noting that the KSE-100 crossing the 156,000 level reflects the confidence of traders and investors in the government’s policies. He credited the economic team’s hard work for the continued journey of national development. The Prime Minister also highlighted that agreements and MoUs worth billions of dollars signed between the Chinese private sector and Pakistani firms will help establish new industries, boost exports, and create employment opportunities.
On Thursday, PM Shehbaz had assured Chinese investors of the swift removal of bureaucratic hurdles, as Pakistan and Chinese firms signed 21 memorandums of understanding worth $4.2 billion. The government also officially launched the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC 2.0) during the Pakistan-China B2B Investment Conference in Beijing.
Fiscal Stability
On the fiscal front, the government successfully raised Rs654 billion through an auction of fixed-rate Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) on Friday, surpassing its target of Rs400 billion.
The cut-off yield on two-year PIBs increased by 11 basis points to 11.1973%, while yields on 10-year and 15-year papers decreased by 11 and 7 bps, respectively, to 12.04% and 12.38%. Yields on three-year and five-year papers remained stable at 11.14% and 11.4395%.
This follows a surge on Friday when the KSE-100 rose by 1,611.47 points, or 1.06%, to close at 154,277.19 points from 152,665.72 points in the previous session. The index touched a high of 154,511.32 points and a low of 153,129.78 points.
