Stocks soar to all-time high as KSE-100 breaches 77,000 mark

Source: GEO TV

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday reached new peaks as it crossed the 77,000 mark by gaining more than 1,000 points during the intraday trading.

The benchmark KSE-100 reached an all-time high of 77,213.31, up by 1,005.15 or 1.32% from the yesterday's close of 76,208.16 points.

Intermarket Securities Director of Research Saad Ali, while speaking to Geo.tv, said that the market has rebounded sharply since the announcement of budget 2024-25 as the feared increase in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) did not come through.

Moreover, the expectations of a revival of talks with the International Monatary Fund (IMF) for a new program have resurfaced which is attributing to the market reacting positively, he added.

A day earlier, the stock market reached an all-time high of 76,208.16 points, showing an unprecedented giant leap of 3,410.73 points or 4.69%.

"The market was expecting an increase in capital gains tax and so investors had reduced exposure significantly," Adnan Sheikh, assistant vice president of Pak Kuwait Investment Co told Reuters.

The budget aims for a modest 3.6% growth, a move seen as a delicate balancing act to satisfy the IMF while addressing the nation's fiscal challenges with heightened taxation.

It's been designed to strengthen the case for a new bailout deal from the IMF, as Pakistan seeks an estimated loan ranging from $6 billion to $8 billion, to avert default in an economy growing at the region's slowest pace.