The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its record-breaking upward trajectory with the KSE-100 index testing the 50,250 points at 9:39 AM local time, marking the newest record-high in the stock markets.
The benchmark index gained 284 points almost 40 minutes after the opening bell on Wednesday, smashing its yesterday’s record-high of 50,049 points. It is trading up 0.37% (184 points) at 50,153 points, as of 10:15 AM.
Trading has been robust as well, as 36 million shares – Rs. 3.45 billion – have swapped hands by now.
The trend observed over the past few weeks has been upward, with the market hovering in 1,000-point brackets for 2-3 days on average. In 2016, KSE-100 Index shot up 14,990 points and produced a 46 percent return, which was above-average.
SECP Chairman Zafar Hijazi commented, “When the market is showing a positive trend and rising day by day, there is a need to advise the investors and individuals to adopt a cautious approach with a view to avoiding losses,” according to local media outlets.
This year, it shows no sign of stopping either. The strong positive momentum is pushed by various factors, including the fact that MSCI has announced the reinstatement of Pakistan’s Emerging Markets status in May 2017.
Enhanced liquidity has helped the market gain over 4% year-to-date (YTD). PSX has been termed as one of Asia’s best-performing markets for several years. Last Friday, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar spoke to media at the 40% share purchase deal-signing event between PSX and a Chinese Consortium.