Bulls take index to new peak in outgoing week
The benchmark index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its upward journey in the outgoing week. The KSE-100 index maintained its unrelenting bullish momentum to finally settle at an all-time high of 61,691 points after gaining 4.4 per cent on a week-on-week basis, according to AKD Securities Ltd. Although the market participation witnessed a dip of 6.7pc from the preceding week, investors remained engaged amid the historic rally with the average traded volume of 612.5 million shares. The impetus of post-International Monetary Fund (IMF) review success sustained with a notable increase in foreign inflows into the market. Net foreign buying hit its six-year high of $35m in November. Furthermore, investment agreements with Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, $3 billion deposit extension by Saudi Arabia, $2bn expected inflow from the World Bank in 2023-24, and above-target tax collection to the tune of Rs3.48bn in July-November bolstered market sentiments. Furthermore, the trade deficit for November witnessed a 13pc month-on-month decline to settle at $1.9bn versus $2.2bn in the preceding month. Meanwhile, the week concluded with an elevated inflation reading of 29.2pc year-on-year, exacerbated by the recent gas price hike.