The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened the week on a strong footing, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index surging over 1,000 points in early trading on Monday, buoyed by improved market sentiment following stable macroeconomic indicators.
By 10:40 am, the index stood at 160,632.77, up 1,039.87 points, or 0.65%. Strong buying was seen across major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration, OMCs, and power generation and refinery companies. Key index-heavy stocks such as ARL, PSO, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, HUBCO, HCAR, DGKC, MEBL, and NBP traded in positive territory.
The Finance Division reported that Pakistan recorded a budget surplus of Rs 2.1 trillion, or 1.6% of GDP, during the first quarter (July–September) of the current fiscal year.
Last week, the PSX had struggled, with the KSE-100 Index dropping 2,038 points, or 1.3%, to close at 159,592.91 amid persistent geopolitical uncertainty and weak macroeconomic signals.
On the global front, international shares gained on Monday on optimism over a resolution to the historic US government shutdown, while the US dollar continued to retreat from last week’s highs.
