Pakistan tops as world’s best performing stock market

Karachi: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced an impressive rally for the second consecutive week after Eid, earning the title of the “world’s best performing market” on a weekly basis, according to a report by Arif Habib Limited, local media reported.

The index surged by nearly 2,800 points, breaking through the 44,000-point mark, as investors capitalised on the unlocking of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), The Express Tribune reported.

JS Global, Analyst, Muhammad Waqas Ghani highlighted the enthusiasm of investors following the government’s agreement with the IMF, which fuelled market bullishness. The increased market activity on the first trading day led to a temporary one-hour trading suspension, implemented to curb excessive volatility, The Express Tribune reported.

Monday witnessed a remarkable daily gain of over 2,400 points, driven by extensive buying following the long-awaited staff-level agreement between Pakistan and the IMF. However, bearish pressure prevailed on Tuesday due to institutional profit-taking, briefly impacting the market despite a major recovery after the IMF deal.

On Wednesday, the downtrend continued as concerns over liquidity risks and the rupee’s depreciation led investors to adopt a cautious approach, resulting in a flat closing note. However, the index returned to the green zone on Thursday, with investors anticipating a $3 billion loan approval from the IMF in its upcoming executive board meeting, sparking buying interest, Express Tribune reported.

The last trading session remained positive as investors found support from Pakistan’s surging foreign currency reserves, despite the absence of major positive factors. As a result, the benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 2,755 points, settling at 44,207 for the post-Eid week.