The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) made history on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index breaching the 164,000 and 165,000 milestones for the first time.

A wave of across-the-board buying propelled the index to a record intraday high of 165,315 points, gaining 1,467 points during trading.

The record-breaking surge was led by strong activity in cement, energy, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, and banking stocks. Heavyweights such as ARL, HUBCO, OGDC, POL, PPL, SNGP, SSGC, MCB, MEBL, and UBL traded in the green, boosting investor confidence.

During early trading at 9:35am, the benchmark index was already up 903 points, hovering around 164,751.60, reflecting bullish sentiment across key sectors including automobiles, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, OMCs, power generation, and refineries.

IMF talks boost sentiment

The rally coincided with the start of crucial talks between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the second review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

Discussions with the IMF focused on fiscal performance, governance reforms, the National Fiscal Pact, capital market reforms, and transparency in development spending. Market watchers linked the positive momentum partly to investor optimism over progress in these negotiations.

Monday’s bullish close

The bullish momentum carried over from Monday, when the KSE-100 Index gained 1,590 points, or 0.98%, to close at 163,847.69. The back-to-back gains reflect strong investor appetite despite broader concerns over inflation and external financing needs.

Globally, Asian markets opened higher on Tuesday, while gold extended its record rally. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index outside Japan rose 0.5%, poised for its best monthly performance in a year. However, Japan’s Nikkei slipped for a third straight session, down 0.3%.

Meanwhile, political gridlock in the United States raised the risk of a government shutdown, which could delay the release of crucial jobs data this week. US Vice President JD Vance said the government appeared “headed to a shutdown” amid stalled budget talks.