The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its upward momentum on Monday, driven by positive economic indicators and relative political stability, with the benchmark index gaining over 550 points during intra-day trading.
As of 11:40 am, the benchmark index stood at 86,000, marking an increase of 552.36 points or 0.65%. Major sectors like automobile assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, fertilizers, and oil and gas exploration companies saw widespread buying interest. Key stocks such as OGDC, PPL, HBL, NBP, EFERT, and HUBCO performed particularly well.
Analysts attributed the rally to expectations of lower inflation for the month. Saad Hanif, an analyst at Ismail Iqbal Securities, noted, “The market is anticipating a Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading below 7% for October.” However, he warned that recent hikes in electricity tariffs could contribute to an uptick in inflation.
Political developments also played a role in boosting market sentiment, with the National Assembly passing the 26th Amendment Bill, a judiciary-related constitutional reform, earlier in the day.
In contrast, last week the PSX exhibited a mixed trend, closing down by 233.31 points, ending at 85,250.09 points. Foreign investors remained net sellers, pulling $11.614 million from the market. However, total market capitalization rose by Rs21 billion, reaching Rs11.177 trillion.
Globally, Asian markets were mixed, with Chinese stocks struggling while Bitcoin hit a three-month high. Gold prices surged to record levels due to ongoing Middle East conflicts and a close U.S. presidential race, driving investors towards the safe-haven metal. Hong Kong’s equities dropped 0.6%, while China’s blue-chip index saw mixed performance, last up 0.4%. The Shanghai Composite Index increased by 0.36%, slightly boosting MSCI’s broad Asia-Pacific index outside Japan, which posted a 0.11% gain. Meanwhile, U.S. stocks marked their sixth consecutive week of gains last Friday.
Follow us on our social media platforms here: Twitter WHATSAPP CHANNEL FACEBOOK PAGE
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.