ISLAMABAD (PEN) : The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a strong buying momentum on Friday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by more than 3,100 points during the early trading session. This bullish trend followed the National Assembly’s approval of the Finance Bill, 2025, which helped lift investor confidence.
KSE-100 Index Rallies Amid Positive Sentiment
At 2:35 pm, the KSE-100 Index stood at 125,231.84 points, marking a gain of 3,185.38 points or 2.61%. Broad-based buying was noted across major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies (OMCs), and refineries.
Heavyweights such as Mari Petroleum (MARI), Oil & Gas Development Company (OGDC), Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), Habib Bank Limited (HBL), MCB Bank, and United Bank Limited (UBL) contributed significantly to the upward movement.
Finance Bill Approval Sparks Market Rally
The government successfully passed the Finance Bill for the fiscal year 2025-26, allocating Rs17.57 trillion. The bill passed clause by clause in the National Assembly on Thursday, rejecting all opposition amendments, with the support of coalition partners. This development eased market uncertainties and bolstered investor sentiment.
Previous Session Saw Market Decline
On Thursday, the PSX experienced selling pressure as the KSE-100 Index dropped by 715.18 points, closing at 122,046.46 amid cautious investor behavior. The market rebound on Friday was a reversal of this cautious trend.
Global Market Trends Support Local Rally
International markets also showed positive momentum, with Asia-Pacific shares hitting their highest level in over three years. The MSCI index for Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) rose by 0.2%, set to post a 3% weekly gain. Japan’s Nikkei surged 1.5%, crossing the 40,000 mark for the first time in five months.
The upbeat mood was supported by an agreement between Washington and Beijing to expedite rare earth shipments to the US and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s request to remove a retaliatory tax proposal from Congress’s spending bill.
The combined impact of domestic policy clarity and positive global cues has created an optimistic environment for Pakistan’s equity markets as they look to build on this upward momentum in the coming sessions.
