Pakistan Stock Exchange Shows Positive Momentum Amid Economic Data
Inflation in Pakistan saw a significant decline in February 2025
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw positive movement on Tuesday, with investors responding to the latest economic data, resulting in a healthy rise in share prices.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 112,743.79 points, gaining 756.91 points or 0.68%, recovering from Monday’s sharp decline. During the session, the index touched an intraday high of 112,877.01 points, while the lowest level recorded was 111,717.17 points.
Economic experts noted that inflation data helped support market sentiment, but the optimism was somewhat tempered by the widening trade deficit. Experts mentioned, “The market has remained range-bound for the last few days, and the lack of volumes is also a concern. The excitement of the CPI numbers yesterday was offset by the larger-than-expected trade deficit, neutralizing the potential upside move.”
Inflation in Pakistan saw a significant decline in February 2025, falling to 1.5% year-on-year (YoY), marking the lowest level since September 2015, according to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
In contrast, Monday had witnessed a bearish trend on the KSE-100 Index, which lost 1,264.78 points or 1.12%, closing at 111,986.89 points.
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Meanwhile, Pakistan’s banking sector reported strong earnings for 2024, with listed banks posting a combined profit of nearly Rs600 billion despite facing a tax expense of Rs650 billion. Meezan Bank Ltd (MEBL) emerged as the most profitable, reporting earnings of Rs101.5 billion, followed by United Bank Ltd (UBL) at Rs75.8 billion and MCB Bank Ltd (MCB) at Rs63.5 billion. Habib Bank Ltd (HBL) and Standard Chartered Pakistan Ltd (SCBPL) rounded out the top five with profits of Rs57.8 billion and Rs46.1 billion, respectively.
