Buying returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index settling just near the 150,000 level on Monday.
Positive momentum persisted throughout the trading session, pushing the KSE-100 Index to an intra-day high of 150,066.00.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 149,971.12, an increase of 1,353.35 points or 0.91%.
In a key fiscal development, Advisor to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad on Sunday informed that Pakistan retired Rs2,600 billion of debt before time — a first in the country’s history.
The advisor took to X and stated that in an unprecedented move and a record achievement for fiscal responsibility, the Ministry of Finance (MoF), government of Pakistan (GoP), has retired over Rs1.6 trillion of debt owed to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) — and done so in just 59 days.
“There is buying interest in both stocks and specific sectors,” said Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited (AHL).
The early retirement of government debt is also a positive development for the market. Moreover, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) announcement to provide funding in support of emergency relief efforts has further lifted the mood.
“The positive sentiment is mainly driven by such news and increased buying interest among investors,” she added.
Pakistan’s headline inflation clocked in at 3% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in August 2025, a reading lower than that of July 2025, when it had stood at 4.1%, showed Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data on Monday.
During the previous week, Pakistan’s equity market remained subdued during the outgoing week as the benchmark KSE-100 Index slipped 875 points or 0.6% to settle at 148,618 points, amid persistent foreign selling, muted sectoral performance, and cautious investor sentiment.
Globally, Asian shares started the new month in the red on Monday after a court ruling threw another wrench into US tariff policy and investors braced for a reading on US jobs that could determine the course of rate cuts there.
A holiday in the United States made for thin conditions, though Wall Street and European futures were still trading with small gains after retreating on Friday.
The dollar and bonds were little moved ahead of a busy week for data, which includes surveys of manufacturing and services, and a range of labour numbers culminating in the August payrolls report on Friday.
Early Monday, S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%, while Nasdaq futures added 0.3%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures firmed 0.3%, while FTSE futures rose 0.1% and DAX futures gained 0.3%.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.9%, tracking a drop in U.S. tech stocks on Friday, while South Korea’s market slipped 0.5%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched down 0.1%, having hit a four-year high last week on the back of a bull run in Chinese stocks.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee maintained its positive momentum, appreciating 0.01% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Monday. At close, the rupee settled at 281.75, a gain of Re0.02 against the greenback. This was rupee’s 17th consecutive gain against the greenback.
Gold price per tola reached Rs370,700, a new record high, after a gain of Rs3,300 on Monday.
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 1,183.07 million from 1,342.20 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares declined to Rs48.85 billion from Rs52.30 billion in the previous session.
B.O.Punjab was the volume leader with 97.69 million shares, followed by K-Electric Ltd with 85.90 million shares, and Pervez Ahmed Co with 54.52 million shares.
On the gainers’ side, PIA Holding Company Limited-B rose by Rs301 to close at Rs27,300, while Hoechst Pakistan Limited added Rs216.81 to settle at Rs4,026.63. Conversely, Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited fell by Rs920.32 to Rs32,701, and Nestle Pakistan Limited shed Rs77.2 to Rs8,439.18, leading the laggards.
Shares of 480 companies were traded on Monday, of which 272 registered an increase, 175 recorded a fall, while 33 remained unchanged.
