KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its positive momentum on Monday and closed beyond 182k for the first time. The benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 3,373 points on institutional buying.
The KSE-100 index surged by 3,373.31 points, or 1.88 per cent, to 182,408.24 points, up from the 179,034.93 points recorded in the last session. The day’s highest index remained at 183,964.37 points, while the lowest was 179,535.47 points.
Ali Najib, deputy head of trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said the bullish momentum at the PSX continued unabated as the KSE-100 index surged past 182k. The rally was fuelled by fresh allocations, institutional-led buying and abundant liquidity flowing into equities. Notably, since January 1, the index has gained 8,354 points (+4.8 per cent), underscoring the strength of the ongoing uptrend.
On the sectoral front, CY25 fertiliser offtake reached the record 6.73 million tonnes, driven by a strong December, defying expectations of surplus inventories and exports. Consequently, urea inventories are projected to decline sharply to ~208k tonnes. Company-wise, FFC’s offtake declined 9.0 per cent year-on-year (YoY), while EFERT grew 9.0 per cent YoY and FATIMA posted a robust 19 per cent YoY growth to a record level.
Index-heavy stocks led the advance, with UBL, HBL, ENGROH, MCB, EFERT, and FFC collectively contributing +1,853 points.“Today’s 3k+ point rally signals further upside, with the strong bullish trend remaining firmly intact, supported by improving macroeconomic indicators and expectations of stronger corporate earnings in the coming weeks,” said Ali Najib. “180k now serves as the immediate support level, should any corrective move emerge around current levels.”
The KSE-30 index increased by 1,132.99 points or 2.06 per cent to 56,150.4 points against 55,017.41 points.Turnover rose by 271 million shares to 1,384.3 million shares from 1,113.099 million shares. The traded value rose to Rs78.095 billion from Rs64.340 billion. Market capitalisation expanded to Rs20.509 trillion against Rs20.212 trillion. Of the 483 companies active in the session, 256 closed in green, 197 in red, and 30 remained unchanged.
According to Topline market review the local bourse kicked off the new year on a powerful note, as aggressive buying by local mutual funds set the tone for a decisive bullish session. Optimism around a potential rate cut in the upcoming monetary policy meeting fuelled risk appetite, driving broad-based participation across the market.
The highest increase was recorded in PIA Holding Company Limited B, which rose by Rs1,408.26 to Rs25,052.36 per share, followed by Indus Motor Company Limited, which increased by Rs55.04 to Rs2,102.33 per share. A significant decline was noted in Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which fell by Rs91.99 to Rs28,908 per share, Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs82.55 to Rs9,930.92 per share.
BO Punjab remained the volume leader with 95.463 million shares, which closed higher by 73 paisas to Rs43.09 per share. Pak Int. Bulk, with 79.721 million shares, followed it, which closed higher by Rs1.63 to Rs21.78 per share.
Other significant turnover stocks included K-Electric Ltd., Telecard Limited, Hascol Petrol, WorldCall Telecom, Media Times Ltd, Cnergyico PK, Pak Elektron and Arif Habib Corp.In the futures market, 313 companies traded, 216 increased, 93 decreased and 4 remained unchanged.
