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PSX surges to fresh peak on second day of strong gains | The Express Tribune
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday witnessed strong bullish momentum for a second consecutive day, driving the benchmark index to a new record high.
By mid-day, the benchmark index had surged even further, touching an intraday high of 166,556.29 before settling at 165,774.16. The rally added 1,926 points compared to the previous close of 163,847.68.
Market activity remained vibrant, with trading volume recorded at nearly 390 million shares, valuing transactions at over Rs39.5 billion. The day’s low was 164,208.33. Analysts attributed the gains to strong investor sentiment, fuelled by positive expectations on the economic front and institutional buying.
Trading opened with a gain of 940 points, lifting the KSE-100 Index to 164,787 points during intra-day trading. Momentum remains positive, with the index so far rising by 1,296 points to 165,144 points.
The rally builds on Monday’s session, when the market also posted significant gains and set fresh highs.
Read: Stocks jump to fresh peak over IMF review
Earlier on Monday, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened the week on a highly strong note as the KSE-100 index soared 1,591 points to close at a new record high at 163,848.
Buying interest remained robust, particularly in attractive stocks, pushing the index to the intra-day peak of 163,904, while the day’s low stood at 162,059. There was brisk activity, reflected in high trading volumes of 1.3 billion shares.
Investors drew support from the visit of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission for the second review of its $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and first assessment under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in its commentary, wrote that stocks took a solid start to the week with the KSE-100 index gaining 0.98% day-on-day and reaching the high of 163.9k in intra-day trading.
Some 60 shares rose while 40 fell, where Fauji Fertiliser Company (+3.1%), Pakistan State Oil (+6.16%) and HBL (+2.51%) contributed the most to index gains. On the contrary, Engro Holdings (-0.66%), Lucky Cement (-0.73%) and DG Khan Cement (-2.52%) were the biggest drags, it stated.
Among corporate news, Ghandhara Automobiles (+0.04%) announced FY25 earnings per share (EPS) of Rs71.85, up 11x year-on-year (YoY), and dividend per share of Rs10, which was above expectations.
Additionally, Air Link Communication (+10%) announced FY25 EPS of Rs12.01, +3% YoY, and dividend per share of Rs7, which also beat expectations. AHL estimates the weekly draw will remain at 165k with support rising to 162k.
It is thought that thousands of people may have lost their jobs at Oracle, one of the world’s largest tech companies.
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The US-Israel Iran war has halted almost all traffic in a key waterway and the price Brent crude has surged.
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Crunch talks between resident doctors and the Government are set to continue in a bid to avert strike action.
Sir Keir Starmer has given the resident doctors committee of the British Medical Association (BMA) a deadline to reconsider a deal on pay and jobs which includes an offer of thousands of extra NHS training posts.
It is understood the proposal will be removed from the deal if resident doctors in England press ahead with a six-day strike from April 7 in a row over jobs and pay.
Dr Jack Fletcher, chairman of the resident doctors committee of the union, said: “It is wrong for Government to withhold desperately-needed jobs as part of negotiating tactics.
“Anyone who works in the NHS knows that patients need these 4,000 jobs created as soon as possible.
“We made that very clear to Government in our meetings today.
“We are not interested in arbitrary deadlines – we will be looking to get this dispute ended right up to the last minute.
“We believe there is a deal there to be done if Government is willing to withdraw the changes it made at the last minute that reduced the funding for pay rises. Talks continue.”
It comes as senior medics announced they were escalating their disputes with the Government.
Consultants and other senior doctors are to be balloted on industrial action after ministers announced they would be getting a 3.5% pay award.
Simultaneous ballots of consultants and specialist, associate specialist and specialty (SAS) doctors will run from May 11 until July 6.
Addressing resident doctors, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wrote in The Times: “The truth is this: no-one benefits from rejecting this deal.
“Resident doctors will be worse off. Instead of improved pay, progression and support, they will receive the standard pay award this year, with none of the reforms that would have strengthened their working lives.”
The deal sets out a minimum of 4,000 new additional specialty posts to be delivered over the next three years.
NHS England boss Sir Jim Mackey confirmed the offer to expand training places will “come off the table” if an agreement is not reached.
The walkout, which is due to run from 7am on April 7 until 6.59am on April 13, will be the 15th round of strikes by resident doctors in England since 2023.
In a letter to health leaders, Mike Prentice, national director for emergency planning at NHS England, wrote: “We expect this round to be challenging as there is a shorter notice period, bank holidays within the notice period and the action itself falling during the Easter holidays.
“This will represent a significant strain on staffing resources to provide safe cover.”
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