No stopping the bull run at PSX as KSE-100 gains over 600 points

There was no stopping a bull run at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the KSE-100 gained over 600 during the opening hours of trading on Monday.

At 11:20am, the benchmark index was hovering at 73,712.98, an increase of 627.48 points or 0.86%.

Across-the-board buying was witnessed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, construction, chemical, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including Lucky Cement, Engro, PSO, and SNGPL were in the green.

“The current upward momentum is anticipated to carry it toward 73,600,” said Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in its report on Monday. “Should it breach 73,600, attention would than shift towards the range of 74,000,” it added.

Experts have attributed the bullish trend at the PSX to an expected fall in interest rate and positive momentum in terms of Pakistan’s pursuit of another larger programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

During the previous week, PSX witnessed bullish trend due to fresh buying on expectations of more foreign inflows, and improving economic indicators.

The benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 1,183.41 points on week-on-week basis and closed at new highest-ever level of 73,085.50 points.

In a key development, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Sunday that there are no “strategic state-owned enterprises” (SOEs) as he stressed the need for privatisation.

Aurangzeb made the remarks in Lahore during a panel discussion at the Pre-Budget Conference held in collaboration with Business Recorder and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry in Lahore.

Aurangzeb declared “the concept of a strategic SOE does not exist.”

“There will be a public-private partnership and we will accelerate the privatization agenda,” he said.

Globally, Asian shares crept to 15-month highs on Monday in a week where inflation figures could make or break hopes for earlier U.S. rate cuts, while Chinese activity data will test optimism about a sustained recovery in the world’s No. 2 economy.

Beijing has already reported a welcome pickup in inflation to an annual 0.3% in April, helping to soothe worries about a slide into prolonged deflation. Forecasts favour further gains in April retail sales and industrial output due on Friday.

Chinese authorities are also set to sell 1 trillion yuan ($138.24 billion) in longer-dated bonds to help fund stimulus spending at home.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.2%, after rallying for three weeks straight.