The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a bullish run as the benchmark KSE-100 Index gained over 350 points during the early hours of trading on Thursday.
At around 10am, the KSE-100 Index was being traded at 40,853.31 level, an increase of 353.97 points or 0.87%.
KSE-100 rises 0.13%, but volume remains subdued
Across-the-board buying was witnessed with index-heavy sectors including, automobile, cement, chemical, commercial banks and pharmaceuticals trading in the green.
Market experts attributed the positive sentiment to improved current account figures, as it was announced on Wednesday that the country’s current account hit a surplus of $654 million in March after a gap of over two years, supported by higher home remittances inflows and contraction in imports.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said the surplus was against a deficit of $36 million in February 2023. This was the first monthly surplus since November 2020.
Analysts said tighter monetary stance and fiscal measures along with administrative steps taken by the government have largely contributed to the lower current account deficit during this fiscal year.
Meanwhile, investors are still awaiting the resumption of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, which has remained stalled since last year.
This is an intra-day update