KARACHI: Amid the deteriorating security situation and mounting political tensions, optimism about the economic outlook kept fuelling aggressive buying in the energy sector, tossing the KSE 100 index to a record high above 85,000 on Tuesday.

Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said stocks hit an all-time high led by blue chip oil scrips on the strong earnings outlook and rupee stability after reports of commitment received on $3.2 billion foreign loans, including $1.2bn from a Saudi oil facility.

He added that higher global crude oil prices, falling banking lending rates and falling Eurobond yields on improving external flows also supported the bull run on the PSX.

Topline Securities Ltd said the upward trajectory was aided by declining bond yields and an anticipated significant decrease in inflation, sparking a wave of optimism in the market that attracted investors’ interest.

The share values of Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL) rose by 3.14pc, and Pakistan Petroleum by 1.13pc were star performers from the E&P sector, contributing 137 points to the index’s performance.

Players like Bank Al-Habib Ltd, Habib Bank Ltd, Engro Fertiliser, OGDC, and BAFL fuelled the rally, adding 664 points to the index.

As a result, the benchmark index continued its winning streak for the sixth consecutive day, propelling the index to an all-time high at 85,663.98 after adding 753.68 points or 0.89 per cent day-on-day.

The trading volume was up 12.69pc to 506.56 million shares while the traded value rose 9.44pc to Rs33.04bn day-on-day.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Hub Power Company (45.84m shares), Pakistan Petro­leum (21.54m shares), Pakistan Refinery (21.34m shares), WorldCall Tele­com (20.85m shares) and Oil and Gas Develop­ment Company Ltd (16.67m shares).

The shares registering the most significant increa­ses in their prices in absolute terms were Unilever Pakistan Foods Ltd (Rs275.00), Hallmark Com­pany (Rs113.23), Hoechst Pakistan Ltd (Rs104.80), Rafhan Maize Products Company Ltd (Rs85.03) and Sapphire Fibres Ltd (Rs77.22).

After a day break, the foreign investors turned net sellers as they offloaded shares worth $1.50m.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2024