Bulls maintained their control over the trading floor at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as shares breached the 94,000 barrier during intraday trade for the first time.
The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 728.34, or 0.78 per cent to stand at 94,020.02 points from the previous close of 93,291.68 points at 10:37am.
Due to positive economic data and a larger-than-expected interest rate cut, the stock market experienced a record-setting streak throughout the last week, except for one session, ultimately closing above 93,000 for the first time.
Yousuf M. Farooq, director of research at Chase Securities, said the conversions in the market from mutual funds to equities — driven by lower interest rates — were continuing.
“The total Assets Under Management (AUM) in mutual funds currently stands at approximately Rs2.8 trillion, with equity funds comprising only Rs98 billion,” Farooq told Dawn.com.
“Conversions are likely to persist if macroeconomic indicators remain stable,” he added.
Farooq said that retail investors “should continue to invest” in a diversified portfolio without worrying about short-term movements for good long-term results.
In the latest quarterly MSCI review, Pakistan’s weight in the MSCI index rose to 4.4pc, making it the second most liquid market in the MSCI’s frontier market index.
Additionally, the government raised Rs339bn across various tenors through Ijarah Sukuk, with yields on fixed rental rate instruments declining by 43-104bps.
More to follow
