The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) started the week on a strong note, rising over 2,000 points as political calm returned after intense protests.
PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 index jumped 2046.78 points or 1.87% to 111,594.98 points, close to the previous session’s 109,513.14 points, which also saw a sharp increase of over 3,00 points.
Last week saw a decline of around 9,000 points, but the market rebounded on Friday, indicating renewed optimism and suggesting investors are looking for value at current levels.
Ahfaz Mustafa, chief executive officer of Ismail Iqbal Securities, told a private news channel that the market’s rise could be attributed to “calmness on the political front”.
Talks between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the government will begin today after a lot of struggle.
Mustafa added that the market had rallied by around 2,000 points in early trade, recouping losses from an initial correction of around 9,000 points earlier last week.
“The correction is over and fresh inflows are being reported from mutual funds and high-net-worth individuals, which are driving the market higher,” he said, adding that the increase was also “official paper”. but was due to stable production”.
Several other factors also contributed to the market rally, including the State Bank of Pakistan’s policy rate cut by 200bps to 13%. Action to do
The country also reported its highest current account surplus in a decade, at $729 million in November 2024, a notable turnaround from the $148 million deficit recorded in November 2023.
Additionally, output in the large-scale manufacturing sector grew marginally by 0.02% y-o-y in November, however, remained in negative territory during 4MFY25.
In November 2024, Pakistan’s electricity generation grew by 6% year-on-year, reaching 8,032GWh. The government raised Rs 382 billion through PIBs where the cut-off yield fell by 55bps in periods.
Pakistan also witnessed a return of $322 million in profits in November, up 112% year-on-year to $1.13 billion in 5MFY25. The finance minister introduced a bill that included tougher taxes and regulations for non-filers. Additionally, the government has signed a $330 million loan agreement with ADB to strengthen social security.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) for the month of November was $219 million (up 65% MoM and 27% YoY) and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) proposed a 26% hike in gas prices to the federal government. . During the current fiscal year, the revenue will be around 847.33 billion rupees.
According to a report by Topline Securities, in 2024, Pakistan’s stock market beat bonds, gold and the US dollar, largely due to economic reforms and interest rate cuts initiated by the IMF program. Redirected local liquidity into equity.