Pakistan stocks close at record high as investor confidence surges following Saudi defense pact
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at an all-time high of 157,953.47 points on Thursday, up by 1,775.65 points with analysts attributing the latest surge to growing investor confidence following Pakistan’s landmark defense pact with Saudi Arabia this week.
According to the PSX website, Pakistani stocks rose during the intra-day trading to 158,082.55 points before declining to 157,953.47 points at close of business. The stocks registered an increase of 1.14 percent from the previous day’s close, which was recorded at 156,177.81 points. The market saw robust activity, with 1.959 billion shares valued at Rs56.93 billion ($1 billion) compared to the 1.499 billion shares worth Rs48.85 billion ($857 million) traded the previous day.
The development takes place a day after Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a “Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement,” pledging that aggression against one country would be treated as an attack on both, with the move expected to enhance joint deterrence and strengthen decades of military and security cooperation between the allies.
“The market touched the all-time high after Pak-Saudi pact, which is likely to ease (Islamabad’s) financial burden as Pak-Saudi relations improve and investors expect economic support following the Middle East pact,” Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive officer of Arif Habib Commodities, told Arab News.
