Bulls continue stampede at PSX as shares surpass 98,000

Bullish momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as shares gained more than 600 points in intraday trade. The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 621.85 points, or 0.64 per cent, to stand at 98,420.08 from the previous close of 97,798.23 points at 12:45pm. Finally, the index closed at 98,079.78, up by 281.55 points, from the previous close. Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities, said that that the market was rallying on “unconfirmed speculation” that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) “may give relaxation to banks on minimum deposit rates [MDR] for savers”. While Yousuf M. Farooq, director research at Chase Securities, said, “A rally in banking stocks, driven by rumours of the removal of ADR [advance-to-deposit ratio] tax and changes in MDR , has led to strong market performance today, even as investors remain cautious in other sectors.”