PSX extends record-breaking rally, KSE-100 surges 600 points

Bulls continued to make further inroads at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 600 points during the opening hours of trading on Friday.

At 9:20am, the benchmark index was hovering at 119,361.22 level, a gain of 591.45 points or 0.5%.

Buying was observed in key sectors including commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks traded in the green, including SSGC, WAFI, MARI, OGDC, PPL, HBL, NBP, and UBL.

The stock market has been on a record-breaking rally, fueled by optimism over an imminent International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA).

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmed, Thursday, expressed the hope that Pakistan and the Washington-based lender would reach the SLA soon. However, the SBP chief gave no timeframe for signing the SLA.

Moreover, the market is also closely monitoring government efforts to resolve the energy sector circular debt, which, if addressed, will help the cash flows of companies in this sector.

On Thursday, PSX continued its record-breaking run as the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossed the 119,000 level, for the first time, before closing at a new high of 118,769.77.

Internationally, Asian stocks fell on Friday in a downbeat end to the week as deepening geopolitical worries and fear over US tariffs and their impact on the global economy curbed investors’ appetite for risk, keeping safe-haven gold near record highs.

Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were steady in Asian hours, while European futures pointed to a weak open.

Policymakers across the globe struck a cautious note in a week filled with central bank meetings as uncertainty in global economics and politics grew.

The US Federal Reserve, the Bank Of Japan and the Bank of England all held rates steady.

Central bankers highlighted the unsettled outlook due largely to rising trade tensions triggered by the US under President Donald Trump.

Trump intends to impose new reciprocal tariff rates on April 2, ushering in a fresh wave of uncertainty.

Reports of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and a huge blast from a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian military airfield were a reminder of rising geopolitical tensions pushing investors towards safe-haven assets.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.85%, with stocks in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia dropping sharply.

This is an intra-day update