Stocks rally to historic high above 57,000 level

The KSE-100 Index surged beyond the 57,000-point level, concluding the trading session at a new record high on Thursday. Topline Securities Ltd said the upward trend was a result of the successful staff-level agreement reached between the Inter­national Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani authorities under a $3 billion Stand-By Arrang­ement. Furthermore, the auction of treasury bills held a day ago also reinforced the market’s perception that interest rates have peaked and, therefore, the policy rate would slowly go down in the coming months. Exploration and production as well as fertiliser sectors contributed to the closing of the index on the higher side. Arif Habib Ltd said the short-term range of 56,200-56,800 points has been breached on the higher side, which raises the near-term support to 56,800 points. “Near-term weakness in cement names is setting up long opportunities,” it added. As a result, the KSE-100 index closed at 57,397.03 points after gaining 716.96 points or 1.26 per cent from the preceding session.