BR Web Desk Published July 31, 2023
The bull run at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued as the benchmark KSE-100 crossed the 48,000 mark after a gain of over 1,000 points or 2.2% in early-morning trading on Monday.
The index, which has on a positive run since Pakistan’s staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has also been boosted by positive triggers in the oil and gas sectors with PSO, OGDC, PPL, SNGP along with banking sector shares leading the rally.
At around 11:05am, the KSE-100 was hovering at the 48,104.99 level, an increase of 1028.00 points or 2.18%. This is the first time the key benchmark has crossed 48,000 in 2 years.
On Thursday, the index had settled at 47,077 after an increase of 394.47 points or 0.85%. This was the first time the KSE-100 had closed over the 47,000 level since November 2021.
Despite profit-booking: KSE-100 closes over 47,000, first time since Nov 2021
Last week, it was reported that leading Pakistani state-owned companies are set to join hands with Saudi Aramco for a $10-billion greenfield refinery project at Gwadar Port.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony took place at the head office of Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), a news release at the time said.
The development has acted as a major trigger for the oil and gas sector rally. In addition, the government swiftly moving to empower the caretaker setup that is set to take over as political parties gear up for elections has also acted as a sign of policy continuity.
“Reports pertaining to the resolution of circular debt, and the upcoming refinery policy is positively impacting the index-heavy E&P sector,” Waqas Kukaswadia, Deputy Head of Research at JS Global, told Business Recorder.
“However, we will need to look at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announcement today, as the market is expecting a hike of 1% in the policy rate,” he added.
Mohammed Sohail, CEO at Topline Securities, in a note said that the “optimism over investment from Saudi Arabia and the UAE along with the Pakistan Mineral Summit is helping investor confidence”.