Stocks gain 395 points on investment optimism

The equities market began the week positively, buoyed by optimism surrounding the upcoming visit of a Saudi delegation to explore investment prospects in mineral, mining, and refinery sectors, coupled with assurances from the army chief to improve transparency in dollar exchange and interbank rates, which boosted investor confidence. The market’s resurgence can be attributed to optimistic developments stemming from a recent engagement of the army chief with business leaders in Lahore, a Topline Securities report said. The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 394.77 points or 0.87 per cent to close at 45,707.42. Ahsan Mehanti, Managing Director and CEO at Arif Habib Commodities attributed the market’s positive trend to discussions regarding the projected $100bn SIFC investments and deceleration in CPI-based inflation to 27.4pc in August. “The army chief’s assurance regarding transparency in dollar exchange and interbank rates, bringing exchange companies under the tax net to mitigate rupee instability, and the surge in global crude oil prices played a catalytic role in the bullish activity,” he added.