Pakistan’s equity market kicked off the week with strong optimism as the KSE-100 Index surged 1,218 points – that’s a solid 0.73% gain – to close at 168,303.
Investors cheered a perfect trifecta of positive triggers: the IMF Board meets today to approve a fresh $1.2 billion tranche, the ECC will review the Circular Debt Management Plan tomorrow, and political uncertainty eased after the Ministry of Defence formally announced the new Chief of Defence Forces.
“Today’s bullish momentum was driven by several key developments: 1) The IMF Board of Directors is meeting today to consider approval of a $1.2 billion tranche for Pakistan; 2) The ECC is scheduled to review the Circular Debt Management Plan for FY25–26 tomorrow; 3) The Ministry of Defence officially announced the appointment of the Chief of Defence Forces, reducing uncertainty on the political front,” said Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd.
On the corporate side, PTC hit the upper cap post company notice regarding that company is accepting the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s conditional approval for acquiring control of Telenor Pakistan and Orion Towers.
Among major movers, FFC, SYS, NBP, PTC and DGKC collectively contributed 847 points, while HBL, UBL, KTML, SAZEW and HUMNL jointly shaved off 125 points.
Market activity stayed moderate, with 781 million shares traded and total turnover reaching Rs 49.9 billion. PTC led the volumes with 60.8 million
shares.
Outlook:
Going forward, the market is expected to attempt a new all-time high, with the energy sector likely to lead the rally. Anticipation of a potential circular debt disbursement tomorrow continues to fuel positive sentiment and may trigger fresh buying interest across key E&P and power sector stocks.