Pakistan Stock Exchange Sees Bullish Trend as KSE-100 Index Surpasses 133,000 Points

Bulls extended their rally at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index surging past the 133,000 mark during the intra day trading on Monday.

According to the PSX website, the benchmark index reached 133,792.64 points as of 11:50 am, an increase of 1,843.58 points from the previous close of 131,949.06 points.

Strong buying activity was observed across various sectors, with notable gains in automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, and OMCs. Prominent stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, PSO, SSGC, EFERT, MCB, MEBL, and UBL, contributed to the upward movement.

By 12:00 pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 133,700.49 level, up by 1751.43 points or 1.33%.

The KSE-100 index began fiscal year 2026 at a record high, surpassing the 130,000 points threshold for the first time. The market sustained its bullish momentum throughout the last week, due to increase in withholding tax (WHT) on profit and interest from savings and fixed deposits to 20%, while it remained unchanged at 15% for equity investments in the recently approved Finance act, triggering a reallocation of funds, driving flows into the stock market.

Optimism was further supported by a strong external position amid Pakistan receiving a $3.4 billion loan rollover from China, in addition to finalising another $1.0 billion loan from a Middle Eastern commercial bank and $500 million from multilateral financing. The said inflows led SBP’s reserves to reach $14.5 billion by end-June 2025, achieving the State Bank’s goal of closing FY25 at the $14 billion mark. Consequently, the market reached its all-time high closing of 131,949 points on Friday.

According to a note by AKD Research, the stock market is expected to remain positive in the coming weeks, with forward inflation for FY26 projected at 4.4%YoY, indicating substantial room for monetary easing, which would serve as a catalyst for equities.

The brokerage firm forecasted that the KSE-100 is anticipated to sustain its upward trajectory, with a target of 165,215 points by December 2025, primarily driven by strong earnings in fertilizers, sustained ROEs in banks, and improving cash flows of oil and gas exploration and production companies (E&Ps) and oil marketing firms (OMCs), benefiting from falling interest rates and economic stability.

Globally, stock markets slipped in Asia on Monday amid confusion as US officials flagged a delay on tariffs but failed to provide much details on the change, while oil prices slid as OPEC+ opened the supply spigots more than expected.

The United States is close to finalising several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, with the higher rates to take effect on August 1.

Investors have grown somewhat used to the uncertainty surrounding US trade policy and the initial market reaction was cautious. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both eased 0.3%.

EUROSTOXX 50 futures eased 0.1%, while FTSE futures fell 0.2% and DAX futures held steady.

Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.5%, while South Korean stocks went flat. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.6%, as Chinese blue chips dropped 0.5%.

Safe-haven bonds were a better bid, with 10-year Treasury yields down almost 2 basis points at 4.326% .

Major currencies were mixed as the dollar index nudged up to 97.071 . The euro held at $1.1771 , just off last week’s top of $1.1830, while the dollar was a fraction firmer at 144.76 yen .

The dollar has been undermined by investor concerns about Trump’s often chaotic tariff policy and what that might do to economic growth and inflation.

In commodity markets, gold slipped 0.3% to $3,324 an ounce , though it did gain almost 2% last week as the dollar fell.

Oil prices slid anew after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed on Saturday to raise production by a larger-than-expected 548,000 barrels per day in August.

Brent dropped 52 cents to $67.78 a barrel, while U.S. crude fell $1.01 to $65.99 per barrel.