Following the arrival of a 50-member trade delegation from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, the Pakistan Stock Exchange experienced a significant increase, buoyed by potential agreements totaling over $10 billion, business-to-business MoUs, and positive sentiments between the two nations. This bullish trend persisted into the following Monday, with the index surpassing the psychological threshold of 72,000 points.
As a result of this surge, share prices rose by 66.32%, leading to a total increase in share value of 89 billion 57 crore 83 lakh 34 thousand 752 rupees. At one point, the index experienced a surge of 1159 points. However, towards the end of the trading session, profit-taking activities dampened the bullish momentum.
Despite several positive factors such as improvements in the balance of external payments and Saudi finance minister’s and investors’ interest in Pakistan’s various sectors, the dollar experienced fluctuations in both the interbank and open currency markets, albeit with limited increases. The interbank dollar rate closed at Rs 278, up by 03 paise, while in the open currency market, the dollar rose by 18 paise, closing at Rs 279.38. Additionally, due to decreased purchasing power in local exchange markets and reduced sales, the local price of gold witnessed a drop of nearly Rs 2,000, with the price of ten grams of gold increasing by Rs 2143 to Rs 206,190.
