PSX hits historic high: KSE-100 index surpasses 59,000 mark for the first time

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its impressive performance, achieving a historic milestone as the benchmark KSE-100 Index surpassed the 59,000 mark for the first time ever on Friday.

At the close of the session, the benchmark index concluded at 59,086.35, registering a gain of 186.51 points, or 0.32 per cent. This marks its highest closing level to date.

Earlier in the day, the KSE-100 index reached an intra-day peak of 59,502.28. However, profit-taking activities in the second half of the trading session led to a partial retreat from these gains.

The trading session commenced with widespread buying, particularly in key sectors such as automobile assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, and technology and communication, all contributing to a positive market trend.

In the preceding session on Thursday, bulls maintained control of the bourse, with the benchmark index settling at 58,899.84, marking a substantial increase of 701.08 points, or 1.20 per cent.

The bullish momentum in the stock market follows the recent staff-level agreement between Pakistani authorities and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the first review under the nine-month $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).

Market experts anticipate increased inflows in the coming weeks due to this agreement. However, data released on Thursday revealed a decrease of $217 million in foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on a weekly basis, reaching $7.2 billion as of November 17.