Bulls celebrate new year with all-time high rally

Bulls celebrated new year at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) with a new 1,800 point rally on Wednesday, crossing the barrier of 117,000. The KSE-100 index climbed 1544.18, or 1.34 per cent, to stand at 116,681.01 points from the previous close of 115,126.90 at 11:53am. Finally, the index closed at record-high 117,008.08, up by 1881.18 or 1.63pc. from the last close. Awais Ashraf, director reasearch at AKD Securities, said, “Expectation of interest rates dropping to single digits, with December’s inflation forecast at 4.15pc — the lowest since April 2018 — is drawing increased interest from investors. “This optimism has particularly boosted leveraged stocks, which have seen the strongest rally,” he said. Notably, he highlighted that Fauji Fertiliser Company had accounted for a quarter of the index’s gains “driven by anticipation of a significant dividend following the merger of its subsidiary, Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim”.