Pakistan stocks close at 150,591 record high on corporate earnings, institutional buying
The bullish trend at the stock market picked up from Tuesday, when the benchmark KSE-100 Index ended the session at 149,771 points. Analysts said the surge was driven by strong institutional inflows, which powered gains in the banking and cement shares.
The bulls showed no signs of fatigue despite the floods on Wednesday, notching an intraday record high of 1,490 points before settling at 150,591 when trading ended, up by 820 points or 0.55 percent from the previous day's close.
'The upward momentum was underpinned by better-than-expected corporate earnings and a strong liquidity push from local institutions, lifting the benchmark to uncharted heights,' Karachi-based brokerage firm Topline Securities said in a statement.
It noted that investor confidence remained 'buoyant' as market heavyweights attracted 'robust flows.'
Topline Securities described the market participation as 'vibrant,' saying that traded volume surged to 662 million shares and at a value of Rs40.5 billion [$143.46 million].
'BOP [Bank of Punjab] led the volume chart, with 52 million shares changing hands during the session,' it concluded.
Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad took to X on Tuesday to attribute the bullish trend at the stock market to Pakistan's 'rising global credibility, home-grown structural reforms agenda with positive macroeconomic outlook' that he said had turned into strong investor confidence.
Pakistan Stock Exchange Makes New History - Reaches 150,000 Points Mark
Here is how long KSE-100 index took to reach 150,000 landmark:
- First 50,000 took 26 years (1991-2017)
- Second 50,000 took 8 years (2017-2024)
- Third 50,000 took just 10 Months (Nov 2024-Aug 2025)
Let… pic.twitter.com/hdH93jJF6K
— Khurram Schehzad (@kschehzad) August 19, 2025
The PSX rally comes amid signs of stabilization in Pakistan's economy after the country secured a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout in September 2024 and saw recent upgrades by international ratings agencies.
Inflation has eased from a peak of 38 percent in 2023 to 4.1 percent in July 2025, while the rupee has stabilized against the dollar.
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