Karachi, April 18, 2025 – The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday witnessed a significant surge today, with the benchmark KSE-100 index registering a substantial gain of 414 points.
This upward trajectory reflects a wave of optimism sweeping through the investor community. The KSE-100 index concluded the trading session at a robust 117,315 points, a notable increase from the previous day’s closing figure of 116,901 points.
Market analysts at Topline Securities highlighted that the KSE-100 index predominantly remained in positive territory throughout the day’s trading. This sustained positive momentum can be largely attributed to a stream of encouraging economic indicators. Notably, Pakistan recently announced its highest-ever monthly current account surplus in March, reaching a remarkable $1.195 billion. Furthermore, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed a favorable drop in Pakistan’s Real Effective Exchange Rate to 101.62 in March 2025, down from 102.25 in February 2025. These positive macroeconomic developments have instilled greater confidence among investors, fueling buying activity across various sectors.
Leading the charge in contributing to the KSE-100 index’s gains were key players such as UBL, LUCK, SAZEW, MEBL, and SYS. Collectively, these stocks contributed a significant +913 points to the overall index performance. In terms of traded value, SAZEW led the pack with a turnover of Rs. 2.41 billion, followed by PSO (Rs. 2.26 billion), MARI (Rs. 1.77 billion), UBL (Rs. 1.74 billion), and LUCK (Rs. 1.72 billion), indicating strong investor interest in these counters.
UBL emerged as a particularly favored stock, closing 9.57% higher. This heightened investor interest in UBL can be linked to its recent announcement of impressive financial results for the first quarter of 2025. The banking company reported its highest-ever diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) of Rs. 28.9, marking a substantial increase of 126% year-on-year and 39% quarter-on-quarter. Adding to the positive sentiment, UBL also declared an interim dividend of Rs. 11 per share and announced a stock split in the ratio of 2 shares for every 1 share held. The overall trading activity for the day witnessed a total volume of 422 million shares and a traded value of Rs. 34.4 billion, underscoring the robust investor participation that propelled the KSE-100 index to its impressive gains.