Stocks rally to another record high

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday enjoyed a bullish session, in line with the previous day’s sharp rise, as the KSE-100 index surged over 400 points and closed at a record high above 86,450.
The market advanced rapidly on the back of institutional buying and better-than-expected corporate earnings, reflecting a renewed sense of investor confidence. The index reached its intra-day high of 86,846.04 in the first hour of trading but closed below the day’s peak, driven by key sectors like technology, cement and energy. Market interest was further bolstered by improving macroeconomic indicators, including a current account surplus of $119 million for September.
“Stocks closed at an all-time high in the earnings season amid upbeat data showing a $119 million current account surplus for September and $771 million foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, up 48% year-on-year (YoY),” said Ahsan Mehanti, Managing Director of Arif Habib Corp.
Surging global crude oil prices, the government’s interest payment waivers for the terminated independent power producers (IPPs) and easing political noise played the role of catalysts in record close at the PSX, he added.
At the close of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index posted gains of 409.06 points, or 0.48%, and settled at 86,466.58.
Topline Securities, in its report, mentioned that the session experienced a strong bullish momentum, reaching the intra-day high of 788 points before closing at 86,466, a gain of 409 points.
The positive movement was driven by institutional buying and better-than-expected corporate earnings, it said.
Systems Limited in the technology sector surged 7.41% after announcing 3Q2024 results, where it reported earnings per share of Rs7.51, surpassing expectations.
K-Electric (K-E) led trading volumes with a notable 224 million shares traded. It was fueled by the material news that the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority had approved a generation tariff for all its power plants for the period after June 2023.
Major contributors to the index’s rise were Systems Limited, Lucky Cement, Hub Power, Attock Refinery and K-E, which collectively added 380 points, Topline said.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in its review, wrote that there were additional gains at the PSX, where the recent highs were surpassed. Some 63 shares rose while 34 fell with Systems Limited (+7.44%), Lucky Cement (+2.61%) and Hubco (+1.59%) being the biggest upside contributors.
According to AHL, October’s Consumer Price Index is expected to come in at 6.3% YoY, bringing average inflation rate for 4MFY25 to 8.50%, a significant decrease from 28.48% recorded at the same time last year. For September 2024, AHL added, the central bank reported a current account surplus of $119 million, a turnaround from the deficit of $218 million in Sept 2023.
JS Global analyst Mohammed Waqar Iqbal reported that the market opened on a positive note and reached a peak of 86,846, before closing at 86,466, an all-time high. “Market sentiment is expected to remain positive, bolstered by a strong corporate earnings season,” he said, adding that in the near term, key triggers included the upcoming monetary policy meeting, which could sustain the uptrend.
Overall trading volumes increased to 722.2 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 474.9 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs25.02 billion.
Shares of 451 companies were traded. Of these, 231 stocks closed higher, 149 fell and 71 remained unchanged.
K-E was the volume leader with trading in 224.2 million shares, gaining Rs0.5 to close at Rs4.23. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 30.2 million shares, gaining Rs0.02 to close at Rs1.25 and Fauji Foods with 26.1 million shares, losing Rs0.25 to close at Rs9.11. During the day, foreign investors sold shares worth Rs447.04 million, according to the NCCPL.