The Karachi stock market rose to a record high on Monday after reports that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was taking a clear lead to form government in Islamabad. The benchmark KSE 100 Index gained 1.6 percent, the most since March 12, to 20,229 as of 9:49 am, taking its rally this year to 19 percent.
The KSE 100 Index surged this year as higher commodity prices and consumer spending boosted earnings of the gauge’s companies by 43 percent in the past 12 months, the most among 17 Asian equity indexes, data compiled by Bloomberg showed as of May 9.
That profit growth lured $202 million of stock purchases from overseas investors this year, the most since the same period in 2010, the data show.