KARACHI: Record remittances in March prompted a significant rally at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday. This bullish performance came after a sharp decline on Friday, which was caused by retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on US goods, resulting in renewed volatility in global markets.

Topline Securities Ltd said the bulls stood firm as the benchmark KSE 100 index posted a robust intraday gain of 1,640 points, ultimately settling at 116,390.04—up by 1,536.71 points or 1.34 per cent day-on-day. The upbeat momentum was driven mainly by better-than-expected inward remittance figures, which significantly bolstered investor sentiment.

Further support came from a broadly positive trend across regional markets, encouraging local investors to re-enter and build fresh positions across key sectors.

Much of the positive momentum was driven by notable gains in heavyweight stocks. United Bank Ltd, Lucky Cement, Hub Power, Engro Holdings, and Engro Fertiliser collectively contributed 1,178 points to the index.

Ali Najib, Head of Sales at Insight Securities, said the PSX resumed the week on a positive note as the country received the highest-ever remittances of $4.1bn in a single month, translating into a 30pc month-on-month and 37pc year-on-year surge in March. The SBP governor disclosed this number while delivering a speech at the Pakistan Financial Literacy Week 2025 inaugural at the PSX.

Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the market rallied on renewed buying interest in the earnings season, supported by upbeat remittances data.

He added that the bull run in global equities, crude oil prices and the government’s decision to avoid retaliation on US tariffs further bolstered investors’ sentiments, leading to a bullish close at the PSX.

The trading volume rose 5.66pc to 484.54 million shares while the traded value fell 13.27pc to Rs27.43bn day-on-day.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Cnerg­y­i­­co PK (55.09m shares), PIBT (45.23m shares), Sui Southern Gas (31.84m sha­res), The Bank of Punjab (27.34m shares) and Pak Elektron (17.48m shares).

The shares registering the most significant increases in their share prices in absolute terms were PIA Holding Company [B] (Rs132.95), Nestle Pakistan (Rs102.48), Lucky Cement (Rs86.64), Rafhan Maize (Rs49.33) and Sazgar Engineering (Rs43.58).

The companies registering significant decreases in their share prices in absolute terms were Hoechst Pakistan (Rs88.96), Indus Motor (Rs19.52), Sapphire Textile (Rs18.47), Mari Energies (Rs14.20) and Bata Pakistan (Rs13.66).

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2025