Monitoring Desk
Bullish sentiment continued to dominate the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as the benchmark KSE-100 index surged by over 800 points in intraday trade, fuelled by record-breaking macroeconomic indicators.
By 11:18am, the KSE-100 index had climbed 847.96 points, or 0.72 per cent, reaching 118,163.54 from the previous close of 117,315.58. The rally follows Friday’s session, which also remained largely in the green, backed by positive investor sentiment and strong corporate earnings.
Market analysts attributed the continued upward momentum to Pakistan’s highest-ever monthly current account surplus in March, as well as a favourable shift in the Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER). According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday, the country recorded a surplus of $1.195 billion in March—more than triple the $363 million surplus in the same month last year.
This record-breaking figure represents the largest chunk of the $1.859 billion current account surplus registered during the July–March period of the current fiscal year.
Investor optimism was further boosted by historic remittance inflows, which hit $4.1 billion in March. The robust growth in remittances has prompted the SBP to revise its annual target from $35 billion to $38 billion for FY25.
Meanwhile, SBP Governor has reiterated that import restrictions have been lifted. However, data shows a modest rise in imports, which grew to $43.39 billion during the July–March period, up $4.33 billion from $39.06 billion a year earlier. Exports of goods also saw an increase of $1.77 billion, reaching $24.66 billion over the same period.
Market participants believe that continued macroeconomic stability, coupled with controlled imports and rising exports, could maintain the bullish trajectory at the PSX in the near term.
