Share prices at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday surged amid reports of record remittances and growing optimism over foreign exchange reserves ahead of the fiscal year-end, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
At the end of the day, the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 index gained 1,536.70 points or 1.32 percent to reach 116,390.03 points.
Across the board buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation.
Moreover, index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, SNGPL, OGDC, PPL, POL, HBL, MCB and UBL traded in the green on the back of respite in tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s successful visit to Belarus last week.
It must be noted that volatility continued in the PSX throughout the whole last week as the world was in the grip of heightened uncertainty sparked by tariff announcements from the US President Donald Trump.
Investor sentiment was bolstered by encouraging comments from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor, who projected that foreign exchange reserves could exceed $14 billion by June 2025. The improvement is expected on the back of record monthly remittances of 4.1 billion in March and anticipated inflows of $4-5 billion before June.
According to the SBP, Pakistan's external debt repayment obligation stands at $26 billion. However, around $16 billion, including $12.4 billion, is expected to be rolled over or refinanced, while $8 billion has already been repaid, easing immediate pressure on the external account.
The positive opening followed a turbulent session on Friday when the benchmark index plunged by 1,335.88 points, or 1.15%, to close at 114,853.33 amid broader concerns over global trade tensions and domestic policy uncertainty.
Reporter: Basim Iftikhar