The Pakistan Stock Exchange's KSE-100 index leapt to an “all-time high” as it crossed the 53,000 barrier for the first time on Friday, a development that came a day after Pakistan's review talks with the International Monetary Fund.
Although the Pakistan rupee lost more ground to the U.S. dollar in the inter-bank and open market, the KSE-100 index maintained a bullish trend gaining by 530 points to cross the 53,000 barrier. It was up by 1%, from the previous close of 52,656.76 points.
A financial analyst said that the good performance of the stock market was due to Pakistan's good relations with the International Monetary Fund and the ability to repay foreign debts on time.
“We are seeing financial excellence through the stock exchange and today's performance has broken all previous records,” Muhammad Zubair of Topline Securities said.
Another analyst, however, noted that index valuations were still low and the progress today was due to dividends and bonuses.
In comparison, the U.S. dollar gained again on Friday and was selling at 284.50 in the inter-bank and more in the open market, up by 70 paise from Thursday.
The Election Commission of Pakistan on Thursday announced that the general elections would be held on Feb. 8, the announcement coinciding with the review talks between Pakistan and the IMF for the release of $710 million second tranche of a $3 billion loan to the cash-strapped country to stabilise its debt-ridden economy.
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