Finally, as the Roll-over week progressed, PSX began to show signs of recovery, with the KSE-100 Index closing at 163,189 points, up 1,496 points or 0.93%, said Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd.
The session opened on a flattish note but quickly came under selling pressure once trading resumed, dragging the index to an intra-day low of 160,565 (-1,128 points or 0.70%) and briefly slipping below the 161k mark. However, value hunters stepped in, providing much-needed support and helping the benchmark rebound into positive territory by the close.
On the macro front, Pakistan’s unemployment rate has climbed to 7.1%, the highest in 21 years. The Planning Minister attributed this rise to the IMF program and climate-related disruptions, which constrained economic activity and job creation.
FFC dominated the positive contributors with 532 points, while renewed interest in banking stocks including MEBL, HBL, NBP and UBL added another 523 points to the day’s rally.
Market activity remained moderate, with over 635 million shares traded and a turnover of Rs 38.9 billion. WTL once again topped the volume chart with 47.7 million shares.
Outlook:
Market momentum continues to strengthen as the Roll-over week progresses. Going forward, the index is expected to maintain a positive trajectory and may march toward the 165k level in the two remaining sessions of the week