KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) started the week on a positive note by achieving a new milestone as it crossed the 73,000 mark during intraday trade on Monday.
During the intraday trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index shot up to 73,146.12 points — 403.38 points or 0.55% higher than the previous close of 72,742.75 points.
CFA Muhammad Saad Ali, the director research at Intermarket Securities, told Geo.tv that the surge was attributed to market optimism being driven by expectations of an interest rate cut in todays Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of up to 100bps.
Moreover, positive news flow on future talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new programme is also driving the market, he added.
The stocks closed near 73,000 points last week on Friday owing to the late-session buying which fuelled a 1% gain, said the dealers.
The benchmark KSE-100 index increased by 771.35 points or 1.07% to close at 72,742.75 points on Friday.
Analyst Muhammad Rizwan at Chase Securities said despite the choppy session experienced, “the market rebounded with a strong start and achieved a new all-time high”.
“This impressive performance was driven by significant contributions from various sectors: Fertiliser added 386 points, Commercial banks contributed 174 points, the Power sector provided 112 points, and Cement added 93 points, collectively reversing the previous negative close and boosting market sentiment.”
