KARACHI: Bulls extended their record-setting spree for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, tossing the benchmark KSE 100 index to an intraday record high above 75,000 as foreign investors continued cherry-picking amid an improved economic outlook.

Topline Securities Chief Executive Mohammad Sohail said the PSX was experiencing an unprecedented rally, setting new records at a breathtaking pace.

“Foreign portfolio investments have flooded in, amounting to an impressive $150 million within a year, marking the largest influx seen in over six years,” he said.

“Within just a year, the PSX has surged by nearly 90pc, marking the swiftest recovery witnessed in over two decades,” he added.

Mr Sohail said the market witnessed three initial public offerings in a month, establishing another remarkable milestone.

Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation attributed the bull run to government plans to sell all state-owned enterprises, structural reforms in the taxation regime, over 2pc year-on-year growth in large-scale manufacturing in March and a slight reduction in profit rates on some national savings schemes kept investors busy in value-hunting across the board.

The market remained optimistic as investors reacted positively to the start of talks with the IMF for a new $6-8bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for the next three years.

In another positive development, MSCI added the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to its Frontier Market Index in its May review.

Key contributors to the market’s upward trajectory included Bank Al-Habib Ltd, United Bank, Meezan Bank, MCB Bank and Engro Fertilisers, collectively added 350 points to index. Conversely, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd, Service Industry, Highnoon Laboratories and Engro Corporation commulatively shaved off 148 points.

As a result, the benchmark index surged to an intraday record high of 75,115.33 and a low of 74,440.88. However, the KSE 100 index closed at an all-time high of 74,663.94 points after rallying by 132.79 points or 0.18pc on a day-on-day basis.

However, the overall trading volume eased 0.3pc to 572.42 million shares. The traded value, however, rose 10.76pc to Rs25.94bn on a day-on-day basis.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2024