The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged on Thursday following the announcement of a trade agreement between Pakistan and the United States, which includes joint development of Pakistan’s oil reserves.
The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 1,563.78 points, or 1.13%, during intra-day trading to reach the current index at 139,976.03, up from the previous close of 138,412.25.
Read: Pakistan, US seal trade deal
The index hit an intraday high of 140,215.22 and a low of 139,369.06.
The total trading volume stood at 86.39 million shares, with a market value of Rs12.22 billion.
The market opened on a bullish note and sustained strong momentum during the session, driven by optimism following the trade announcement.
Earlier on Wednesday, PSX witnessed a mixed session as investors remained cautious ahead of the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) policy rate announcement.
Read more: Stocks rise as SBP keeps rate on hold
However, late-session buying lifted the benchmark KSE-100 index by nearly 450 points.
It closed with a gain of 447.43 points, or 0.32%, at 138,412.25.
“The market ended on a positive note as banks rallied following the SBP’s announcement to keep policy rate unchanged, contrary to market expectations of a reduction of 50 basis points,” AKD Securities Director Research Mohammed Awais Ashraf told The Express Tribune.
Also read: SBP holds rate steady at 11%
Additionally, Systems Limited surged after acquiring British American Tobacco’s SAA services to fuel its future growth.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL) observed that the KSE-100 rose from the support zone to regain the 138k level. Some 41 shares rose while 59 fell with Systems Ltd (+6.9%), United Bank (+2.08%) and Habib Bank (+3.21%) contributing the most to index gains.
On the contrary, Fauji Fertiliser (-0.7%), Lucky Cement (-1.51%) and Engro Holdings (-0.94%) were the biggest drags, it said.
In corporate news, Engro Fertilisers announced 1HCY25 earnings per share (EPS) of Rs6.34 (+10% year-on-year) and a dividend of Rs6.50 per share.
Overall trading volumes decreased to 425.8 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 606.3 million.