PSX inches closer to record high

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) followed through on the previous day's record surge with notable gains on Tuesday, buoyed by investor optimism over the easing of war fears between Pakistan and India and assurances from the finance minister about the limited fiscal fallout from the geopolitical tensions. The KSE-100 index soared to an impressive intra-day high of 2,769 points, nearing its all-time high of 120,796, before settling with an increase of 1,278 points, or 1.09%, at 118,576. The recent approval of $2.4 billion in loans by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) as well as a rally in crude oil prices and upbeat global equities lifted investor sentiment in the local market. Institutional buying, especially by the local mutual funds, and strong participation across key sectors propelled the benchmark index closer to the all-time high.