\u201cLower taxes on equity versus fixed income is a major trigger for PSX,\u201d says analyst
\nnews agency
\nislamabad
\nThe equity market rose sharply on Wednesday amid strong investor confidence in the newly announced federal budget, with analysts pointing to favourable tax treatment and IMF-aligned fiscal discipline as key drivers of sentiment.
\nThe Pakistan Stock Exchange\u2019s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at at an all-time high of 124,352.68, up 2,328.24 points, or 1.91%, from the previous close of 122,024.44. During the session, the index climbed to an intraday high of 124,588.17, gaining 2,563.73 points, or 2.1%, and touched a low of 123,237.99, reflecting a rise of 1,213.55 points, or 0.9%.
\nPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed satisfaction with the stock market touching its highest level in history. He said the market rally reflects investors\u2019 confidence in a people-friendly budget.
\nBrokers and analysts welcomed the FY2025\u201326 budget, which kept the capital gains tax (CGT) on equities unchanged at 15%, while increasing taxes on interest income \u2014 a move seen as tilting investor preference towards stocks.
\n\u201cLower taxes on equity versus fixed income is a major trigger for PSX. This is just the beginning towards 150,000 in a year,\u201d said independent investment and economic analyst AAH Soomro. The budget projects Rs19.3 trillion in revenues and Rs25.8 trillion in expenditures, resulting in a federal fiscal deficit of Rs6.5 trillion, or 5.0% of GDP. The overall national deficit is estimated at Rs5 trillion (3.9% of GDP), requiring provincial governments to generate a Rs1.5 trillion surplus \u2014 up from Rs1 trillion in FY25.
\nTopline Securities noted that if passed without significant changes, the budget could support a re-rating of the market\u2019s price-to-earnings (PE) ratio from 5.2x to 7x, further enhancing the appeal of equities in the coming fiscal year.
\nThe rally follows a modest advance on Tuesday, when the KSE-100 Index rose by 383.44 points, or 0.32%, to close at 122,024.44. The index hit a high of 122,611.53 and a low of 121,589.90 during that session.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cLower taxes on equity versus fixed income is a major trigger for PSX,\u201d says analyst news agency islamabad The equity market rose sharply on Wednesday amid strong investor confidence in the newly announced federal budget, with analysts pointing to favourable tax treatment and IMF-aligned fiscal discipline as key drivers of sentiment. The Pakistan Stock Exchange\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-483679","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n