Sky is the limit as share prices take PSX index to historic high

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another historic day on Wednesday as the share prices marched to another historic high amid ongoing talks between the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The PSX benchmark KSE-100 Index index rose to a record high breaching the key level of 75,000, with analysts highlighting hopes for a decline in inflation and interest rate cuts.

The stocks were up by 573 points before noon on Wednesday, tossing the index to 75,104 or 0.8 percent, though later profit-taking brought it down by couple of hundred points.

The PSX index has surged about 80 percent over the past year, and it is up 16.1 percent year-to-date.

The market is picking up steam due to an anticipated decline in inflation to 13.5 percent for May and expectations of a monetary easing cycle starting in June, said experts.

Investors are also buoyed by optimism surrounding discussions on an IMF financing programme and the economic roadmap ahead, the analysts said, adding the market is trading at an "appealing" price to earning ratio (PE) of 4.1 times, representing a 46 percent discount compared to the mean PE of the last five years.

On Tuesday, the PSX had gained over 730 points to close above 74,000. The KSE-100 started the session on a positive note, and the bulls remained dominated throughout the session, especially in the final hours. At close, the benchmark index settled at 74,531.19, up by 732.08 points or 0.99%.

Encouraging auto sales numbers for April 2024 showing early sign of industry’s turnaround on the back of stability on PKR front and anticipation of monetary easing kept the automobile sector onto investors radar throughout the trading hours, experts said.

Buying was witnessed on Tuesday in sectors including commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, and refinery. Index-heavy stocks of OGDC, PPL, PSO, SNGPL, HBL and NBP traded in the green.

In a key development, Wall Street bank Citi said it expects Pakistan to reach an agreement with the IMF for a new four-year programme of up to $8 billion by end-July. “A larger and longer IMF EFF (Extended Fund Facility) program could be finalised by July – possibly a $7-8 billion 4-year program and secondly and a possible inflow of Saudi investments,” Nikola Apostolov at Citi wrote in a note to clients.

Shares of 388 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 190 registered an increase, 178 recorded a fall, while 20 remained unchanged.

Reporter Baseem Iftikhar