Karachi, March 6, 2025: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a strong comeback on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index soaring over 1,450 points. The rally was fueled by institutional buying and growing expectations of an interest rate cut by the central bank.
Throughout the trading session, investor confidence remained high, pushing the KSE-100 Index to an intra-day peak of 113,871.21. By the closing bell, the index had settled at 113,713.17, marking a gain of 1,459.41 points, or 1.30%.
Buying activity was particularly strong in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertilizers, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies (OMCs), and refineries. Prominent index-heavy stocks such as PRL, HUBCO, PSO, SNGPL, MARI, OGDC, HBL, NBP, and UBL all traded in the green.
Investor focus is also locked on ongoing negotiations between Pakistani authorities and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the first review of the country’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF). If approved, the review could unlock another tranche of funding for Pakistan ahead of its annual budget, typically presented in June.
Meanwhile, sources revealed that the government has engaged banking sector leaders in discussions to resolve the circular debt issue, further boosting market sentiment.
The sharp rally in the PSX follows a mixed performance in the previous session, where the KSE-100 had shed 490 points after profit-taking erased early gains of nearly 600 points.