Staff Reporter
Karachi
The stock market achieved a major milestone as the benchmark KSE-100 index surged over 500 points and powered past the 45,000-point barrier for the first time since May 2018.
The market was buoyed by strong investors’ interest, which lifted trading volumes to 664.5 million shares. Bulls reigned supreme and stock investors welcomed the government’s decision on partial settlement of circular debt with the independent power producers (IPPs). The rise was also attributed to upbeat data of petroleum product sales which rose in double digits. Oil sales were up 16% to 1.59 million tons in December 2020 compared to 1.37 million tons in the same month of 2019.
Investor confidence also got a lift from the positive economic momentum observed in the first quarter of current fiscal year 2020-21. The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) report “The State of Pakistan’s Economy” revealed that economic activities were largely restored to pre-Covid levels in the first quarter (July-September) of FY21. In the morning, stock trading began with a spike and the uptrend continued for the rest of the day. At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 502.99 points, or 1.13%, to settle at 45,153.42 points. Overall, trading volumes soared to 664.5 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 582.4 million.
