Political stability drives stocks higher

Bulls dominated proceedings at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as investors took encouragement from relative political stability and a marked improvement in macroeconomic indicators. Market players resorted to cherry-picking of stocks, helping the KSE-100 index to add over 550 points to its tally. Current account surplus, a significant increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) and expectations of a further policy rate reduction were among the triggers that drove the market higher. The index consistently fluctuated throughout the day and hit its intra-day low at 115,668.08 points in the very first hour of trading. It recovered very swiftly, reaching the day's peak at 116,276.42 after midday. "Stocks closed bullish in an earnings season rally amid upbeat data showing a $1.2 billion current account surplus and 20% surge in FDI to $1.33 billion for July-December 2024," said Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp.