On Wednesday, the Pakistani stock market surged to yet another record high, driven by positive economic data and expectations of monetary easing. Monetary easing is a key driver of economic activity, which is closely linked to business earnings.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged by an incredible 869.77 points, or 1.30%, to close at 67,756.03.
Following indications of an increase in both domestic and foreign cement dispatches for March, investors poured a lot of cash into the cement and steel industries on Wednesday, making the cyclic sector the star of the show.
Nonetheless, industries including commercial banking, transportation, and technology and communication still continued to draw attention from investors.
Furthermore, the government’s plans for privatization, particularly the plan to sell off a portion of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), fed the market with optimism as the consensus is that these companies would turn around in terms of profitability and efficiency under private ownership.
It should be mentioned that the Privatization Commission invited expressions of interest (EOIs) from possible bidders on Tuesday, paving the way for the sale of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
“After strong privatization progress and foreign portfolio investment in government papers, confidence (is) further improving,” stated Mohammed Sohail, CEO of brokerage firm Topline Securities, in a letter sent out during intraday trading.
“With expectations of a rate cut in the upcoming months, cement stocks are (also) in the spotlight,” he stated.
