PSX ends highly bullish in pre-budget rally

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday closed on a bullish note, powered by a pre-budget rally that saw the benchmark KSE-100 index surge over 1,500 points. Analysts attributed the positive momentum to a robust economic outlook, fuelled by finance minister's comments on rising remittances, higher foreign exchange reserves, low inflation and support for the construction industry. The index commenced trading on a bearish note, touching its intra-day low at 943 points due to concerns over a court ruling to uphold the windfall tax. Despite that, the market rebounded with a surge in the exploration and production (E&P) sector. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp commented that stocks closed bullish in a pre-budget rally due to strong economic outlook, after the finance minister pointed to surging remittances, higher forex reserves, low inflation and support for the construction industry.