ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) hit a another all-time high as it crossed 188,000 points on Tuesday, amid hopes of strong remittance inflows and budget relief linked to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) talks.
Pakistan recorded an inflow of $3.6 billion in December, with Saudi Arabia emerging as the largest contributor. Pakistani officials expect remittances to exceed $40 billion this fiscal year.
On Tuesday, the benchmark KSE-100 index gained 860.09 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 188,621.78 points, up from the previous close of 187,761.69 points, according to PSX data.
Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive officer of Arif Habib Commodities, told Arab News the market witnessed bullish activity amid speculation of the earnings season.
“FM (finance minister) expectations for $41 billion remittances in FY26, and expectations over renegotiation of IMF deal for relief in federal budget played a catalyst role in the record close at PSX,” he said.
Pakistan is currently navigating a long path to economic recovery under a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) approved in Sept. 2024, which has seen Islamabad take several reforms, including privatization of loss-making state entities.
Meanwhile, Pakistani market research firm Topline Securities said in its daily review that the upward momentum at PSX was driven by buying from local mutual funds.
“Additionally, SAZEW [Sazgar Engineering Works Limited] notified that it will commence bookings for its CKD [Completely Knocked Down models] — ‘TANK-500 Hi4-T 4x4 2.0L Turbo AT PHEV and HEV’ — starting Monday, January 26, 2026,” Topline Securities Senior Equity Trader Naveed Nadeem said.
CKD means the cars are assembled locally from imported parts.
Engro Holdings Limited (ENGROH), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), SAZEW, Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC), and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) collectively added 661 points to the index, according to the research firm.
It said a total of 1,222 million shares were traded at a value of $227.86 million (Rs63.8 billion) on Tuesday, with Hascol Petroleum Limited topping the volume chart by trading 113 million shares.
