PSX hits intraday record as KSE-100 crosses 121,000 points for first time
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) reached a new milestone on Wednesday, with the KSE-100 index breaching the 121,000-point mark for the first time during intra-day trading.
The index stood at 121,690.71, gaining 1,239.84 points or 1.03% at the time of this report's filing.
The highest point reached during the session so far was 121,736.39, while the lowest was 120,896.13. Total trading volume stood at 218,586,173 shares, with a transaction value of 18,626,764,104. The previous close was 120,450.87.
The positive momentum at the PSX follows the recent approval of an $800 million financial package by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Pakistan under the Resource Mobilization Reform Program (Subprogram-II).
Read more: ADB approves $800m financial package for Pakistan
The package consists of a $300 million policy-based loan (PBL) and a $500 million program-based guarantee (PBG), which has helped to bolster investor sentiment.
Previously, ADB had postponed the approval of a $800m financing package for Pakistan for five days on the request of India that sought time to evaluate the loan documents, exposing flaws in the lender's rule book that allows such extensions.
Earlier on Tuesday, the PSX also saw a record-breaking close, with the KSE-100 index finishing at 120,450.87, marking its first-ever close above the 120,000-point threshold.
Also read: PSX closes above 120,000 points for first time
The market gained 1,573.07 points, or 1.32%, during the session, reaching an intra-day high of 120,693.83 and a low of 119,129.51. Trading volume that day was 315,235,806 shares, with a total value of 20,897,236,653. The gains on Tuesday were reportedly attributed to positive sentiments in the market ahead of this month's budget announcement.
Despite a sharp decline in the market earlier in the week, which saw the KSE-100 index drop by 813 points (0.68%) on Monday due to concerns over proposed tax hikes and inflation, the record highs reflect renewed investor confidence as the country's budget approaches.
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