KSE-100 Index surges to intraday high of 140,585.38, gaining 1,919.89 points, or 1.38%, but closes in red
\n Islamabad
\nThe stock market ended flat on Friday as investors booked gains following a record-breaking rally fuelled by bullish sentiment ahead of corporate earnings announcements and expectations of monetary easing.
\nSana Tawfiq, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited, noted: \u201cMomentum to continue amid result season. However, there will be episodes of profit taking.\u201d
\nThe Pakistan Stock Exchange\u2019s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index touched an intraday high of 140,585.38 points, marking a gain of 1,919.89 points, or 1.38%, while the lowest level of the day was recorded at 138,343.72 points, reflecting a drop of 321.77 points, or 0.23%. The market closed at 138,597.36 points after drop of -68.13 points.
\n\u201cStocks trading at a new all-time high ahead of major earnings announcements due next week and likely SBP policy easing amid thin inflation,\u201d said Ahsan Mehanti, Managing Director and CEO of Arif Habib Commodities.
\n\u201cExpectations over strong financial results and annual payouts played catalyst role in bullish activity at PSX,\u201d he added.
\nInvestor optimism was further supported by the finance minister\u2019s recent remarks regarding monetary easing. On Monday, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated there was room to reduce the interest rate, though the decision lies solely with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
\nIn its last policy meeting, the SBP held the benchmark interest rate at 11%, citing inflationary risks and geopolitical uncertainties following the Iran-Israel conflict. The date for the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee meeting has yet to be announced but is expected by the end of July.
\nInvestor sentiment remained buoyant following the latest SBP data, which showed that central bank foreign exchange reserves rose by $23 million to $14.526 billion in the week ending July 11, surpassing the IMF\u2019s $13.9 billion target. Although overall liquid reserves declined $72 million to $19.957 billion, the rise in SBP-held reserves was supported by multilateral inflows, remittances, and ongoing dollar purchases from the interbank market.
\nFurther reinforcing the bullish mood, the government successfully raised Rs342 billion through the auction of fixed-rate Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs), exceeding its Rs300 billion target.
\nThe cut-off yields on various tenors declined across the board, reinforcing expectations of further monetary easing. The yield on two-year PIBs fell by 54 basis points to 10.848%, while the yield on three-year bonds declined by 35 basis points to 11.05%. The auction results showed a drop in yields, reinforcing expectations of further monetary easing.
\nYields on five-year bonds dropped by 31 basis points to 11.39%, and the yield on the 10-year tenor fell by 30 basis points to 12.2%. No bids were accepted for the 15-year bonds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KSE-100 Index surges to intraday high of 140,585.38, gaining 1,919.89 points, or 1.38%, but closes in red Islamabad The stock market ended flat on Friday as investors booked gains following a record-breaking rally fuelled by bullish sentiment ahead of corporate earnings announcements and expectations of monetary easing. Sana Tawfiq, Head of Research at Arif Habib […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":486907,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-491184","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n