ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) stayed bullish in the post-budget session as the benchmark KSE-100 index crossed the 76,000 mark to settle at a new record high on Thursday.
At the closing session, the benchmark index settled at 76,208.16, with an increase of 3,410.73 points or 4.69%. The figure is the highest points gain in a single day, said Arif Habib Limited (AHL) in a note.
Across-the-board buying was recorded among key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, cement, engineering and oil and gas marketing companies.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb unveiled Pakistan’s federal budget 2024-25, targeting a modest 3.6% growth for the coming fiscal year.
According to the analysts the budget FY25 is overall positive for the market as the government has not changed the treatment of Capital Gain Tax (CGT) to normal tax.
Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, presenting the budgetary proposals in the National Assembly on Wednesday, said Rs1.4 trillion have been earmarked for PSDP.
On Wednesday, the KSE-100 Index gained over 200 points to settle at 72,797.43.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee marginally appreciated against the US dollar, gaining 0.2% in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the Pakistani Rupee settled at 278.10, showing a gain of Re 0.51 against the greenback.
K-Electric Ltd was the top volume leader at the PSE with 66.84 million shares, followed by Fauji Cement with 39.8 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 21.75 million shares.
In total, 425 companies traded their shares in the stock market, 294 of them recorded gains, and 87 met losses, whereas the share price of 44 companies remained unchanged.
Earlier, the market achieved the historic 66000 mark in December 2023, followed by some bearish momentum. In March 2024, however, the market bounced back to surpass the 67,000 mark followed by the 70,000 mark in early April.
