PSX crosses 90,000-point barrier in new all-time high

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) achieved a remarkable feat on Friday, as the KSE-100 index broke through the 90,000-point barrier in intra-day trading.

The index was trading at 90,087.41 points at 11:58 am, representing a 1.25% increase from the previous day’s close of 88,945.98.

Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities, noted that the stocks reached the 90,000 mark in one of the fastest record gains of 125pc in 18 months.

The PSX’s upward momentum continued throughout the week, with the index surpassing the 89,000 mark on Thursday.

Most analysts predict the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will reduce its policy rate by 200 basis points in its upcoming meeting on November 4. This would mark the fourth consecutive rate cut since June.

Topline Securities, in its report, commented that bulls dominated the PSX as the KSE-100 index surged to an all-time high of 89,126, up 1,931 points, or 2.22%, before closing at 88,946, higher by 2.01%.

Investor optimism was fuelled by expectations ahead of the monetary policy meeting scheduled for November 4. Market sentiment suggested that two significant policy rate cuts may be on the horizon, prompting a wave of stock buying that propelled the index to the historic peak, it said.

Also, investors were shifting their fixed-income portfolios to equities, further boosting market momentum, Topline added.