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.