Positive sentiments return, KSE-100 gains over 800 points

Positive sentiments were observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 800 points during the opening hours of trading on Monday.

At 11:45am, the benchmark index was hovering at 149,421.67, an increase of 803.90 points or 0.54%.

Buying interest was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, pharmaceuticals and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, SNGPL, SSGC, OGDC, POL, HBL, MEBL and NBP, traded in the green.

In a key fiscal development, Advisor to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad on Sunday informed that Pakistan retired Rs2,600 billion of debt before time — a first in the country’s history.

The advisor took to X and stated that in an unprecedented move and a record achievement for fiscal responsibility, the Ministry of Finance (MoF), government of Pakistan (GoP), has retired over Rs1.6 trillion of debt owed to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) — and done so in just 59 days.

“There is buying interest in both stocks and specific sectors,” said Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited (AHL).

The early retirement of government debt is also a positive development for the market. Moreover, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) announcement to provide funding in support of emergency relief efforts has further lifted the mood.

“The positive sentiment is mainly driven by such news and increased buying interest among investors,” she added.

During the previous week, Pakistan’s equity market remained subdued during the outgoing week as the benchmark KSE-100 Index slipped 875 points or 0.6% to settle at 148,618 points, amid persistent foreign selling, muted sectoral performance, and cautious investor sentiment.

Globally, Asian shares started the new month in the red on Monday after a court ruling threw another wrench into US tariff policy and investors braced for a reading on US jobs that could determine the course of rate cuts there.

A holiday in the United States made for thin conditions, though Wall Street and European futures were still trading with small gains after retreating on Friday.

The dollar and bonds were little moved ahead of a busy week for data, which includes surveys of manufacturing and services, and a range of labour numbers culminating in the August payrolls report on Friday.

Early Monday, S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%, while Nasdaq futures added 0.3%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures firmed 0.3%, while FTSE futures rose 0.1% and DAX futures gained 0.3%.

Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.9%, tracking a drop in U.S. tech stocks on Friday, while South Korea’s market slipped 0.5%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched down 0.1%, having hit a four-year high last week on the back of a bull run in Chinese stocks.

This is an intra-day update