Bulls return to PSX as shares climb 1,000 points on corporate results

Bulls took over the trading floor at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as shares climbed more than 1,000 points on Monday after a week of persistent institutional selling.

The benchmark KSE-100 index surged 1055.03 points, or 0.96 per cent, to stand at 111,377.96 points from the previous close of 110,322.93.

Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities, while speaking to Dawn.com attributed the bullish momentum to “better-than-expected corporate results helping the market”.

He added that the “first IPO of 2025” also signalled positive market sentiments.

According to a press release, Zarea Limited “is set to go public”, raising Rs1 billion through its Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Last week, the stock market remained under pressure for the third consecutive week on persistent institutional selling driven by renewed concerns over significant shortfalls in tax revenues against the collection projection and an inordinate delay in debt rollovers.

These issues are particularly worrisome ahead of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) review later this month, leaving investors anxious without any positive developments.

However, the government hopes for a successful IMF review, which would lead to the release of a second tranche under the 37-month $7bn Ext­ended Fund Facility, which is crucial to meeting the country’s external debt repayment obligations.

On the economic front, the headline inflation for January dropped to a 101-month low of 2.4pc year-on-year. The trade deficit widened by 18pc to $2.3bn in January. The petroleum sales remained stable at 1.38m tonnes in January, with 8pc month-on-month growth. The cement despatches increased by 14pc to 3.89m tonnes in the first month of 2025. Meanwhile, the urea and DAP sales declined by 27pc and 6pc year-on-year, respectively.

The SBP reserves increased by $46m to $11.4bn week-on-week.