PSX closes at record high on strong liquidity, sectoral gains

The equity market surged to a fresh all-time high, crossing the 154,000 mark for the first time, on Friday, with sentiment fuelled by sustained liquidity flows and selective sectoral rallies.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at 154,277.19 points, up 1,611.47 points, or 1.06%, from the previous close of 152,665.72.

The index climbed to an intraday high of 154,511.31, gaining 1,845.59 points, or 1.21%, while touching a low of 153,129.78, up 464.06 points, or 0.3%, from the previous close. 

“Net buying continues based on mutual funds buying, overall positive liquidity chasing limited stocks," said AAH Soomro, an independent investment and economic analyst.

"HUBC and cement have seen a good rally due to the good payout by HUBC and the potential rerating of the cement sector based on the acquisition of one player,” he added.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank rose by $28 million to $14.302 billion during the week ending August 29, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported on Thursday. 

The country’s total liquid foreign reserves increased by $42 million to $19.66 billion, while commercial banks’ reserves rose by $14 million to $5.357 billion. The SBP’s reserves are now sufficient to cover 2.62 months of imports.

This marked the fourth consecutive weekly increase in SBP reserves. The bank did not specify reasons for the rise in its weekly statement, but the improvement in the external account driven by strong remittances, coupled with continued foreign exchange purchases by the SBP, has been a major factor.

Treasury bill (T-bill) yields remained largely steady on Wednesday, signalling that investors expect no immediate interest rate change due to concerns about inflationary pressures following flash floods. The government raised Rs491 billion from the auction of T-bills, exceeding its target of Rs400 billion but below maturities of Rs824 billion.

The one-month T-bill yield fell by 15 basis points (bps) to 10.75%, while yields on the three-month and six-month papers held steady at 10.85%. The 12-month yield also stayed flat at 11%. Separately, the government raised Rs36.7 billion through a floating-rate Pakistan Investment Bond auction.

On Thursday, the KSE-100 rose by 463.85 points, or 0.3%, to 152,665.72 points from 152,201.88 points in the last session. The highest index of the day was 153,411.06 points, while the lowest level stood at 152,264.97 points.