Stock market breaks 50,000-point mark again after 69 days

KARACHI: The benchmark index rode high on fresh buying on Monday as the trading week started; it closed 0.81% (or 403 points) at 50,111 points. Trading remained robust as well, with nearly 135.70 million shares swapping hands in transactions worth almost Rs. 15.03 billion.

The KSE-100 Index registered intraday high and low of 50,204 points and 49,588 points, respectively.

The new wave of buying commenced on April 19, a day before the Panama Leaks case verdict was announced, from 46,050 points. During these four days, KSE-100 Index has added more than 4,000 points.

Considering the positive momentum, Insight Securities' Zeeshan Afzal highlighted once again the MSCI Emerging Markets status that Pakistan will officially regain in May 2017. The decision, announced late last year, has had the investors hopeful of funds coming in from abroad.

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) had registered its all-time high of 50,887 points on January 27, this year.

The index had closed up 2.39% (1,140 points) at 48,787 points on Thursday, the day the much-anticipated verdict on the Panama Leaks case was disclosed by the Supreme Court. Against the intraday low, it surged almost 1,600 points, marking the longest stretch in a day.

Investors' perception

The stock market's performance is a barometer of investor confidence in the economy. Fears pertaining to the Panama case had kept the investors cautious for a few days before the ruling was announced. With the matter out informally on the back burner, there's much more clarity in the market.

The local business community welcomed the decision pertaining to the Panama case, saying that it will ensure economic stability in the country. However, Zubair Motiwala, a leading industrialist and vice chairman of Businessman Group (BMG), said that the certainty had prevailed to some extent.

“As the apex court has directed to form a JIT and decision will be based on the finding of the commission,” Motiwala said, adding that the uncertainty would return after two months.

(Editing by Haseem uz Zaman)