Positive momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday owing to an improved economic outlook as investors kept a close watch on the government's discussion for privatisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
The market also took cue from the bullish trend in global equities and the government's commitment to reducing power tariffs.
In the morning, trading started with strong buying and the KSE-100 index surged by nearly 500 points by the afternoon. It reached the intra-day high of 78,914.28, exhibiting an increase of 565 points.
However, profit-taking wiped out the gains, taking the index to the intra-day low of 78,439.62. The market recovered towards the close of trading where it registered modest gains.
"Stocks closed higher as investors weighed the government's deliberations on the privatisation of SOEs, speculation about lower CPI inflation in August and Moody's recent ratings upgrade," said Ahsan Mehanti, MD of Arif Habib Corp.
"A bullish trend in global equities, the government's affirmation of power tariff reduction by next year and expectations about the bridging of external financing gap were the key catalysts for the market's strong close," he said.
At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index registered a modest rise of 138.55 points, or 0.18%, and settled at 78,488.22.
Topline Securities, in its commentary, noted that the market largely traded in positive zone as the index rose to the intra-day high of 564 points.
However, some profit-taking was observed in closing hours, when the bourse dropped, but it still closed up by 0.18% at 78,488, it said.
Major positive contribution to the index came from Engro Fertilisers, Millat Tractors, Fauji Fertiliser, National Bank and United Bank, which cumulatively added 239 points.
On the contrary, Hub Power, Habib Bank, Bank AL Habib, Pakistan Petroleum and Bank Alfalah lost ground, weighing down the index by 141 points, Topline added.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in its report, observed that the KSE-100 index experienced a range-bound week, fluctuating between 78,000 and 79,000 points, but closed down by the end of the week.
On Friday, 47 shares rose while 50 fell. The largest contribution to the index came from Engro Fertilisers (+2.65%), Fauji Fertiliser (+1.82%) and Millat Tractors (+3.32%). Conversely, the biggest drags were Hub Power (-1.09%), Bank AL Habib (-1.88%) and Habib Bank (-1.28%), it said.
National Bank (+5.42%) continued to see strong demand following the resolution of its longstanding pension dispute, leading to an increase in "our December 2025 target price to Rs80.1".
Following Moody's upgrade of Pakistan's credit rating earlier in the week, ratings of five Pakistani banks were also upgraded, AHL added.
JS Global analyst Mohammed Waqar Iqbal said that the PSX closed the week with modest gains, with the market remaining mostly in the green.
The index peaked at 78,914 (+565 points), but profit-taking at higher levels reduced gains. Buying activity was primarily concentrated in fertiliser, oil and gas, and banking stocks.
"Looking ahead, we recommend a buy-on-dips strategy with a focus on technology, fertiliser, cement, and oil and gas sectors," the analyst added.
Overall trading volumes increased to 680.8 million shares compared with Thursday's tally of 599.8 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs21.2 billion.
Shares of 454 companies were traded. Of these, 214 stocks closed higher, 180 dropped and 60 remained unchanged.
Hascol Petroleum was the volume leader with trading in 63.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.65 to close at Rs7.90. It was followed by Kohinoor Spinning Mills with 44.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.15 to close at Rs11.84 and Symmetry Group with 38.7 million shares, gaining Rs0.77 to close at Rs9.34.
Foreign investors were net buyers of shares worth Rs565.4 million, according to the NCCPL.
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