Stocks cheer new year with 2,211-point rally
Extending its winning streak for the third consecutive session after suffering the biggest-ever single-day fall on Dec 27, bulls staged a spectacular rally on the first day of the new calendar year of 2024, again tossing the KSE-100 index above 64,000-point level on Monday. Topline Securities Ltd Chief Executive Officer Muhammed Sohail told Dawn that the release of funds to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) by the government has triggered a rally on the first day of 2024. Moreover, the smooth rollover of December futures contracts also helped sentiments. Trading began on a strong note on the backdrop of IPP news which helped energy stocks to remain in the limelight since the start of the trading as Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL), Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) all hit their limits up for the day. In addition, banking sector stocks also joined the party as investors did some cherry-picking in them in anticipation of better-than-expected earnings with good dividends in the upcoming result seasons, which will start in a couple of weeks.