PSX crosses milestone of 58,000 points

The KSE-100 index gained over 800 to reach 58,203.85 during the intraday trading, up from yesterday's close of 57,371.59, according to the PSX website.

A day earlier, the stocks reached another high as investors were optimistic about the prospects of receiving the first loan tranche from the global lender.

The PSX benchmark KSE-100 index hit a new historical high of 56,238 points in the early trading hours on Monday, up by 1.5% or around 850 points from Friday’s close.

The stock market has added over 3,000 points in the past week to date in the wake of a smooth IMF review of the local economy under ongoing its $3 billion loan programme.

Investors cheer the expected IMF approval for the next tranche of $710 million as Islamabad has adhered to all of the fund’s conditions for the review.

Besides, the market is expecting the central bank to cut its benchmark policy rate sooner than expected, potentially in December 2023, after the rate of return on the government debt securities dropped sharply by up to 180 basis points last week.

The market was buoyed by reports that the IMF board meeting to approve a staff-level agreement on the $700 million loan tranche under the standby agreement for Pakistan could take place in the first week of December.