KARACHI: Amid sharp volatility, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday pushed the benchmark index to a fresh all-time high above 189,000 points as renewed buying gathered pace in the final session of the week, ahead of a monetary policy announcement due on Monday.

Investors appeared to be positioning for a further cut in the policy rate, which stands at 10.5pc, by the State Bank of Pakistan’s Monetary Policy Committee amid easing inflation, rising foreign exchange reserves and a stable rupee. At its treasury bills auction on Jan 21, the government reduced cut-off yields across most tenors to single digits for the first time in four years, strengthening the notion that the central bank is set to cut the benchmark rate by 50-100bps.

According to Arif Habib Ltd (AHL), the PSX registered another record close, with the KSE-100 index settling at 189,166.83 points, up 1,478.67 points, or 0.79 per cent.

It noted that the market remained range-bound during the first session, oscillating between 187,000 and 188,000 points. Momentum stre­ngthened in the second half of the day as rumours of a potential stock split at Fauji Fertiliser Company (FFC) sparked aggressive buying, propelling the index past the 189,000 mark to a historic close.

On the macroeconomic front, the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) for the week ended Jan 22 rose 4.18pc year-on-year, while declining 0.48pc week-on-week, signalling easing short-term inflationary pressures.

AHL said FFC alone added 1,514 points to the index, driven largely by split-related speculation. Engro Fertiliser, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd, Hub Power and Engro Holdings collectively contributed a further 690 points. On the downside, Pioneer Cement, Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd, United Bank, National Bank and Pakistan Petroleum came under selling pressure, cumulatively shaving 478 points off the index.

Market participation dipped, with traded volumes falling below the one-billion mark to 875.49 million shares. However, the value of shares traded increased to Rs58.5bn. K-Electric led the volume chart, with 141.4 million shares changing hands.

Earlier in the week, the current account numbers kept equity investors in a state of depression, as the country recorded a current account deficit of $244 million in December 2025, reversing surpluses of $454m in December 2024 and $98m in November 2025. During the first half of FY26, the current account posted a deficit of $1.174bn, compared with a surplus of $957m in the corresponding period last year. The country also recorded a net outflow of foreign direct investment of $135m in December.

Topline Securities noted that while the market remained range-bound in early trade, bulls later drove the index higher, led by FFC on optimism about earnings and payouts ahead of the company’s board meeting to announce its annual results for the year ended Dec 31, 2025.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2026