Records tumble at PSX as KSE-100 crosses 161,000 mark

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened on a bullish note, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the 160,000 level for the first time in history, amid a gain of over 1,900 points during the opening minutes of trading on Friday. At 10:15am, the benchmark index was hovering at 161,188.80, a gain of 1,908.71 points or 1.2%. Across the board, buying interest was observed in key sectors, including cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation, and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, SNGPL, and PSO, traded in the green. Analysts attributed the momentum to improvement in Pakistan’s economic outlook. “Continued economic recovery and better prospects due to improved geopolitical standing of Pakistan are driving the rally,” Samiullah Tariq, Head of Research at Pak-Kuwait Investment Company Limited, told Business Recorder.