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KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rebounded on Friday, reversing the bearish trend of the past two sessions as investor sentiment was lifted by S&P Global’s credit rating upgrade and expectations of a monetary policy easing next week.
The benchmark KSE-100 index rose 514.62 points, or 0.37pc, to close at 139,207.29, with investors engaging in value-hunting during the last session of the rollover week. The market shrugged off recent lethargy, buoyed by renewed optimism over improving macroeconomic indicators.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the bullish close followed S&P Global’s upgrade of Pakistan’s credit rating to ‘B-’ with a stable outlook, citing improved fiscal indicators, IMF reforms, and bilateral financial support. He added that speculation over a potential policy rate cut by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) next week — driven by falling government bond yields — also acted as a catalyst.
Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, noted that investors were seen cherry-picking in anticipation of a 50 basis-point interest rate cut at the SBP’s monetary policy meeting on July 30. “Easing inflation and lower international oil prices contributed to the optimism,” he said, adding that the credit rating upgrade helped boost market momentum. Pakistan’s long-dated sovereign bonds also gained following the S&P revision.
Topline Securities reported that major support for the index came from Engro Holdings, United Bank, Lucky Cement, Meezan Bank, National Bank, Atlas Honda, and Systems Ltd, collectively adding 541 points.
However, overall market participation fell, with traded volume declining 2.15pc to 634.81 million shares, while traded value dropped 12.46pc to Rs24.61bn. The Bank of Punjab led the volume chart, with 50.2 million shares changing hands.
Analysts believe the technical outlook remains positive, with 137,000 acting as a strong support level for the KSE-100. A breach of this level could lead to a dip towards 135,000, where attractive valuations and expected policy easing may spur renewed buying interest.
Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2025
