ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s benchmark stock index surged to a record high on Monday, lifted by strong corporate earnings and robust local institutional buying, while a survey showed most market participants expect the central bank to hold interest rates steady at its meeting later this month.
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s KSE-100 index gained as much as 1,922 points before settling up 1,810 points, or 1.17 percent, at 156,087. Investor flows into heavyweights such as Engro, Hub Power, Lucky Cement, Mari Petroleum and Sui Northern Gas helped drive the rally, adding more than 1,100 points to the index.
“Better-than-expected corporate earnings and strong local liquidity propelled the benchmark into uncharted territory,” said Maaz Mulla, vice president of equity sales at Topline Securities, a top brokerage house.
Engro alone contributed over 400 points to the day’s rise after the brokerage reiterated a “buy” call on the stock, Mulla added.
Total market participation remained high, with 1.12 billion shares traded at a value of PKR 62.2 billion.
