PSX ends week in green as credit rating outlook improves

Pakistan’s equity market posted modest gains during the outgoing week, underpinned by improved investor sentiment following a rare upgrade in the country’s sovereign credit rating and growing expectations of monetary easing. However, lacklustre volumes and caution ahead of corporate earnings tempered the upward momentum, highlighting an underlying wait-and-see attitude among investors. The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 610 points or 0.44pc week-on-week to close at 139,207, fuelled by optimism surrounding the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on July 30 and a favourable shift in global investor perception. Topline Securities attributed the gains to the S&P Global upgrade of Pakistan’s long-term sovereign rating to ‘B-’ from ‘CCC+’, the first such improvement in six years. The rating agency cited macroeconomic stabilisation, improving fiscal indicators, and progress on reform as key drivers.