PSX soars on PM’s election

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday extended its upward trajectory from the previous week as investors took cue from the election of a new prime minister and upbeat economic data. In the morning, trading began on a robust note, supported by the shrinking of trade deficit by 30.2% year-on-year (YoY) to $14.87 billion for July-February 2023-24 and the fall in the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation to 23.1% in February 2024. Additionally, foreign fund inflows, rupee stability and the declining Karachi Interbank Offered Rate (Kibor) played a key role in maintaining the market’s upward momentum. Consequently, the KSE-100 index broke the psychological barrier of 66,000 points in the morning, reaching the intra-day high at 66,007.43. Although the market dipped briefly in the afternoon, touching the intra-day low at 65,532.58, positive sentiment stemming from Shehbaz Sharif’s election as the PM for the second time and the ongoing political developments boosted the index.