Friday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) reached a record while investor confidence has climbed on the renewed trade links of the United States-Pakistan and parliamentary approval of the federal budget.
The KSE-100 index closed at 124,379.06, up 2,332.60 points, or 1.91%, compared to the previous fence of 122,761.64.
The market briefly affected a summit of 125,285.05 points during the intraday trading. The negotiation volumes remained robust with 220,312,628 shares exchanged.
“Optimism is back due to the renewed links of the United States-Pakistan and macroeconomic re-evaluation,” said Aah Soomro, an independent investment and economic analyst. “The evaluations are attractive in relation to fixed income alternatives,” he added.
The National Assembly approved on Thursday the federal budget for the 20125 to 26 fiscal year, amounting to Rs17.57 Billions, after having adopted changes to the 2026 financial bill.
The Minister of Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb has presented revisions, in particular modifications to the sales tax law, in particular a clause allowing the finance committee to authorize arrests in the event of tax fraud greater than 50 million rupees.
The bill also presented a revised income tax structure for employees. Revenues of up to 600,000 rupees remain exempt from tax, while those between RS600,000 and 1.2 million will be taxed at 1%. The fixed tax slabs apply to higher supports, passing to Rs346,000 for income between 3.2 million rupees and 4.1 million rupees.
In an increase in market feeling, Pakistan and the United States are on the right track to conclude current trade negotiations, the two parties actively exploring a preferential trade agreement (PTA) aimed at stimulating reciprocal market access and strengthening bilateral trade.
The Minister of Finance held a virtual meeting with the US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday to discuss the tariff provisions. According to an official announcement following the meeting, the two parties expressed their confidence in the conclusion of trade negotiations as soon as possible.
The day after the recent visit by Marshal Asim Munnir in the United States, diplomatic and economic channels between the two nations have intensified. The negotiators are currently exploring tracks to finalize a PTA or a bilateral trade agreement (BTA).
Investor confidence was also supported by the continuous support of Pakistani abroad via the Roshan digital account (GDR), total entries reaching $ 10.38 billion from September 2020 to May 2025. In May, GDR entries increased from 13% per month to 201 million dollars. The number of digital accounts has increased to 823,224.
According to Saad Hanif, research manager at Ismail Iqbal Securities, $ 6.65 billion in GDR was invested locally, mainly in Naya Pakistan and Roshan Equity certificates, while $ 1.95 billion remains repatritable.
Thursday, the KSE-100 had dropped by 715.18 points, or 0.58%, to end at 122,046.46. The index had reached a summit of 123,417.87 and a minimum of 122,142.43 during the session.