KARACHI: The fifth straight monthly current account surplus and easing political uncertainty following the announcement of a long-delayed judgement in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case on Friday attracted renewed buying interest at attractive valuations across the board, propelling the benchmark KSE-100 index to settle above 115,000, snapping two-day downturn.

The KSE-100 index closed at 115,272 points, gaining 1,435 points or 1.26 per cent day-on-day.

Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said stocks closed bullish in the earning season rally as investors weighed former prime minister’s conviction positive to resolve the conflicting government-PTI patch-up talks.

He added that falling lending rates, surging SBP forex reserves amid $2 billion UAE deposit rollover and easing political noise restored investor confidence, which led to a bullish spell at the PSX.

Topline Securities Ltd said that the market positivity can be attributed to the 14-year imprisonment handed by an anti-graft court to PTI founder Imran Khan.

The top positive contribution to the index came from United Bank, Hub Power, Lucky Cement, Pakistan Petroleum, OGDC and Pakistan Oilfield, which cumulatively contributed 669 points.

Ali Najib, head of sales at Insight Securities, said the session began on a subdued note as the market participants closely monitored the political judgement. However, the bulls made a strong comeback after the verdict was announced just before the end of the first session, as investors viewed the decision as a step towards easing political uncertainty.

Adding to the optimism was the better-than-expected current account surplus of $582 million for December, further bolstering market confidence.

Key sectors driving the day’s gains included banking, power, cement, and exploration and production.

The trading volume rose 17.07pc to 549.58 million shares while the traded value surged 43.83pc to Rs35.93bn day-on-day.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom (101.934m shares), Hub Power Company (36.888m shares), Hascol Petrol (32.496m shares), Dewan Motors (28.438m shares) and Citi Pharma Ltd (24.244m shares).

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2025