KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its positive run on Wednesday as optimism grew over a major financing agreement between the government and commercial banks to address the country’s mounting power sector circular debt.
Despite investor caution ahead of the upcoming IMF review for the release of a $1 billion tranche starting September 25, the benchmark KSE-100 index crossed the 158,000-point barrier during the session.
According to Topline Securities, the index gained as much as 1,101 points intraday before profit-taking trimmed the advance. It eventually closed at 158,236 points, up 291 points or 0.18 percent. The rally was fueled by reports of a landmark Rs1.275 trillion agreement with 18 commercial banks to resolve circular debt issues in the energy sector.
K-Electric emerged as the star performer, recording its highest-ever single-day trading volume. Strong financial results and expectations of further earnings growth attracted robust investor interest. Pakistan Petroleum, Hub Power, United Bank, and K-Electric together contributed 538 points to the index, while Fauji Fertiliser, Systems Ltd, Engro Fertiliser, and Meezan Bank dragged it down by 256 points.
Market activity picked up sharply, with trading volumes climbing 17.05 percent to 1.78 billion shares. However, the traded value fell 7.15 percent to Rs54.4 billion.
Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said the index mostly consolidated between the 158,000-159,000 range, recovering from a brief dip into negative territory as value hunters stepped in late in the session.
On the macro front, AHL Research projected inflation to rise to 5.9 percent in September from 3.0 percent in August, largely due to food price hikes following floods. While inflationary pressures remain, analysts expect the PSX to stay within the 155,000-160,000 range in the near term, with energy stocks likely to dominate as the circular debt settlement progresses.
Story by Muhammad Kashif
