PSX hits historic highest levels

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) was bullish Thursday as the KSE 100 index recorded a historic high after gaining over 661 points. At 11:54am the benchmark KSE-100 index stood at 67,208 points compared to the previous session’s close of 66,547. Arif Habib Limited, a brokerage house, noted in a post on X that the PSX saw an “all time high” when it crossed 67,094 mark which was the previous high on “intraday basis”. “KSE-100 index went up by 582 points (67,130 pts, +0.87%, on intraday basis) DoD; surpassed its previous high of 67,094 points (on intraday basis),” it stated on X, formerly Twitter. According to experts, the positive trend is reflective of recent economic developments such as Islamabad’s successfully conducted talks with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) mission as well as the government’s plans regarding privatisation. Earlier this week, the privatisation and restructuring plan of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was approved by its board of directors which was recently constituted. A day earlier, strong inter­national interest following significant progress tow­ards privatisation of the national flag carrier and optimism about International Monetary Fund (IMF) in­flows early next month had triggered a fresh buying spree, tossing the KSE 100-share index to an all-time high closing above 66,500 level. It should be mentioned that on Tuesday the federal cabinet had approved the board of PIA Holding Company. The move was hailed as a significant development in the national carrier’s privatisation process as its liabilities and assets will be transferred to the holding company, which will be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.