The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a dramatic turnaround on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shaking off an early sell-off to close at a record high. Investor sentiment was buoyed by expectations of a favorable International Monetary Fund (IMF) review and the anticipation of a substantial $710 million tranche, alongside robust foreign buying activity and speculations ahead of the MSCI quarterly review.
The KSE-100 Index, which had plunged by 755.82 points earlier in the day from its intraday peak, rebounded to end the trading session 0.3 percent higher, gaining 142.35 points to settle at 56,665.93 points. This surge was largely attributed to the performance of power generation and distribution companies, with notable contributions from HUBC, which added 87.93 points to the index, and MTL, which contributed 63.74 points.
Despite the overall upswing, commercial banks weighed on the index's progress with EFERT and UBL pulling it down by 44.29 and 36.83 points respectively. The market's breadth was positive with 185 companies ending on a higher note compared to 161 decliners, while 21 remained unchanged.
The total volume of shares traded during the day was significant, with over 255 million shares changing hands. Pak Refinery led the volume with 44.5 million shares traded at Rs23.75 each. Other active stocks included Cnergyico PK with 40 million shares at Rs4.70 each and WorldCall Telecom with over 27 million shares at Rs1.36 each.
The leaders of the pack in terms of share price gains were Nestle Pakistan, which soared Rs552.50 to Rs8,400, followed by Rafhan Maize with an increase of Rs75.25 to Rs8,600. On the flip side, Faisal Spinning witnessed the largest decline, dropping Rs30.15 to Rs371.85, alongside Al-Abbas Sugar which fell by Rs30 to Rs495.
The All-Share index also closed in positive territory at 37,542.85 points, reflecting broader market gains beyond the blue-chip stocks.
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