Robust corporate results send PSX to record

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday rose to a fresh record high during the corporate earnings announcement season, fueled by robust financial results and anticipation ahead of the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) monetary policy announcement on April 29. In the morning, trading commenced at the intra-day low of 70,882.44 points, but soon the KSE-100 index recovered and moved upwards. The positive momentum was attributed to the government’s discussions about the privatisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), rupee stability amid foreign fund inflows and upcoming talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new loan package. Consequently, the market crossed the 71,000-point barrier and reached its intra-day high of 71,861.18. Notably, oil and gas exploration, banking, fertiliser and cement sectors drove the index upwards. It closed the day near its peak with substantial gains. “Stocks closed bullish in an earnings season rally amid strong financial results and speculation ahead of the SBP policy announcement on April 29,” said Ahsan Mehanti, MD of Arif Habib Corp.