The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a strong bullish rally on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index surging by over 1,400 points, reversing the volatility seen in the previous session.
The rally followed the disbursement of a $1 billion second tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), part of its ongoing loan programme with Pakistan.
The KSE-100 index opened on a positive note, rising 858.23 points (0.73%) to reach 119,394.75 from the previous close of 118,536.52 by 9:40 AM. The index peaked at an intraday high of 119,990.30 around 3:18 PM — a gain of 1,453.78 points (1.23%).
By the end of the session, the index closed at 119,961.91, posting an overall gain of 1,425.39 points or 1.20%.
Samiullah Tariq, Head of Research and Development at Pak Kuwait Investment Company Ltd, attributed the surge to optimism sparked by the IMF inflows. He also highlighted growing expectations of further financial support following the IMF Board’s approval of the tranche on May 9, which also included a new $1.4 billion climate resilience arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
The current upswing continues the market’s recovery following last week’s military escalation between Pakistan and India, which was defused after a ceasefire agreement. That de-escalation had already led to a record 9% gain in the KSE-100 in the following session.
Tariq also pointed to declining yields in recent treasury bill auctions and optimism surrounding the potential resolution of the circular debt crisis in the gas and power sectors. Last month, the energy ministry reported to the National Assembly that circular debt had been reduced by Rs9 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year.
