The Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday made a new record as it crossed the psychological barrier of 67,000 points.
The index started the day at its highest-ever closing point of 66,547.78 points, which it had attained on Wednesday. The index continued that momentum into Thursday as it raced up 698.24 points to an intraday high of 67,246.02 points by noon. The index settled before closing the day 103.9 points lower at 67,142.12 points.
This is the exchange's highest-ever closing level. The index is up 61% from July 2023 and 12% in the last three months.
Continuing the positive momentum from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, economic reforms led by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), progress on selling off the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), and other loss-making state-owned enterprises, hike in gas tariffs, all contributed towards investor confidence.
Investors strategically augmented their equity portfolios by acquiring blue-chip stocks across diverse sectors. Power, banking, and fertilizer sectors positively influenced the index, with Bank AL Habib Limited (BAHL), Engro (ENGRO), Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), and Lucky Cement (LUCK) collectively contributing 208 points to the bourse which gained a cumulative 594.34 points.
Simultaneously, profit-taking was observed in Systems Limited (SYS), Allied Bank Limited (ABL), and Service Industries Limited (SRVI), resulting in a cumulative loss of 31 points.
Brokerage house Topline Securities said that Thursday's trading session saw robust activity, with over 421.02 million shares exchanged at the bourse, amounting to a total value of Rs16.1 billion. Noteworthy performers on the volume chart included PTC, LOTCHEM, and TELE, with trading volumes exceeding 107 million shares.