The share prices at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) crossed another milestone on Wednesday as the index hit historic high by smashing through the 72,000 psychological barrier. Buyers rejoiced as the PSX crossed the monumental threshold of 72,500 points for the first time, marking a significant milestone in the nation's economic history. The bullish drive was palpable as the benchmark KSE-100 index surged over 811 points, catapulting to a record high of 72,171.71 points, underscoring the resilience and optimism prevalent in the Pakistani financial market. On Tuesday, Pakistan Stock Exchange had witnessed a volatile session, with the KSE-100 Index shedding 74.06 points (-0.10 percent) to close at 71,359.40 points. The market opened on a sharp positive note; however, trading remained volatile throughout the session as the index swayed both ways. The index came under heavy selling pressure in the last 45 minutes amid profit-taking; otherwise, the session had remained range-bound. According to experts, Pakistan is aiming to agree on the outline for a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme, which has been helping sustain the record-breaking spree.

Moreover, good March quarter dividends are helping share prices which despite rallying are trading at a forward-looking price-earnings, they added. They also attributed the upward momentum to media reports of Saudi investment in Reko Diq project, and projections indicating a sharp decline in inflation and interest rates ahead. The index traded in a range of 508.21 points, showing an intraday high of 71,846.63 points and an intraday low of 71,338.42 points. Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index on Tuesday increased to 383.45 million shares from 360.54 million shares in the previous session. Similarly, the overall market volumes were recorded at 655.94 million shares against 655.21 million shares a session ago. Among scrips, KEL topped the volumes with 67.16 million shares, followed by PIBTL (46.35 million) and FCCL (45.92 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included KEL, PIBTL, FCCL, PAEL, and MLCF, which formed over 34 percent of total volumes.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan