{"id":75979,"date":"2024-03-27T12:23:34","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T12:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/psx-rallies-over-600-points-closes-at-all-time-high\/"},"modified":"2024-03-27T12:23:34","modified_gmt":"2024-03-27T12:23:34","slug":"psx-rallies-over-600-points-closes-at-all-time-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/psx-rallies-over-600-points-closes-at-all-time-high\/","title":{"rendered":"PSX rallies over 600 points, closes at all-time high"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Bulls dominated the trading floor of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday as shares gained over 600 points, with analysts attributing the gains to \u201cgood progress\u201d made regarding the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the federal cabinet approved<\/a> the board of PIA Holding Company, with former State Bank governor Tariq Bajwa being appointed as its chairman.<\/p>\n

The move was hailed as a significant development in the national carrier\u2019s privatisation process as its liabilities and assets will be transferred to the holding company, which will be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. The board will include seven independent directors and four government officials.<\/p>\n

Today, at 11:14am, the benchmark KSE-100 index gained 520.58 points from the previous close of 65,906.27. By 1:43pm, it advanced by a further 143 points, cumulatively gaining 663.71 points to reach 66,529.98 points, or 1.01 per cent ahead.<\/p>\n

Finally, the index closed at 66,547.78 points, up by 641.51 or 0.97pc, from the previous close.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that that the index crossed the all-time high record of 66,426.78 points previously set on December 12.<\/p>\n

Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities, said \u201cgood progress\u201d made regarding the privatisation of the national carrier and a \u201clikely new deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)\u201d was helping market sentiment.<\/p>\n

He highlighted that the benchmark index was once again closing in on the all-time high number of 66,427 points, which was seen in December.<\/p>\n

Moreover, he said that foreign fund buying \u2014 as shown by National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) data \u2014 also supported share prices \u201cwhich are trading at an attractive price-to-earning ratio of less than four\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said that currently the country\u2019s market was the best performing market with the highest gains in last six months.<\/p>\n

Shahab Farooq, director of research at Next Capital Limited, attributed the rally to \u201cpositive developments\u201d on the macroeconomic front such as the progression of PIA\u2019s privatisation and moving ahead with the new IMF deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe finance minister\u2019s statement regarding interest rates and foreign buying are [also] fueling positive sentiments in the market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In an interview<\/a> earlier this month, the finance minister had talked about the need for getting \u201cour house in order by reducing government expenditure\u201d. He had also expressed the hope that the credit rating of the country would improve, and macroeconomic stability would follow.<\/p>\n

Yousuf M. Farooq, director of research at Chase Securities, said, \u201cThe relative calm on the political front, coupled with the finance minister\u2019s rational interview on a media channel, alongside institutional and foreign buying this morning, has kept investors upbeat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n