KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) bounced back and closed higher on Thursday. The benchmark KSE-100 index increased by 881 points amid strong economic data, especially the record current account surplus numbers.

The index increased by 881.03 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 116,901.13 points, up from the 116,020.11 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 117,216.03 points, while the lowest level was recorded at 115,818.07 points.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Ltd said, “Stocks showed sharp recovery amid the $1.195 billion record current account surplus in March and Kuwait extended oil credit facility to ease rupee instability and attract foreign inflows.”

He said that Fitch Ratings upgrade of default rating and stable outlook, surging Asian equities and crude oil prices, upbeat economic data on remittances and inflation played a catalyst role in the bullish close.

The KSE-30 index increased by 326.18 points or 0.92 per cent to 35,932.66 points from 35,606.48 points. Traded shares decreased by 73 million shares to 408.066 million shares from 481.813 million shares. The trading value dropped to Rs32.127 billion from Rs38.536 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs14.292 trillion against Rs14.193 trillion. Of the 445 companies active in the session, 212 closed in green, 172 in red and 61 remained unchanged.

Analyst Naveed Nadeem at Topline Securities said the PSX concluded the session on a bullish note, with the KSE-100 index advancing by 881 points, or 0.76 per cent, to close at 116,901 level. “Investor sentiment was buoyed by record-high remittances, contributing to a historic current account surplus in March. The surplus for the first nine months of FY25 reached $1.9 billion,” he said.

The rally in cement stocks was fuelled by a Rs25 per bag increase in cement prices, further supporting the market’s upward momentum.

Index performance was largely driven by heavyweight stocks including UBL, PSO, NBP, MARI and MLCF, which collectively contributed 515 points, underscoring their pivotal role in sustaining market momentum.

The highest increase was recorded in PIA Holding Company Limited B, which rose by Rs175.36 to Rs1,928.97 per share, followed by Sazgar Engineering Works Limited, which increased by Rs62.44 to Rs1,232.22 per share. A significant decline was noted in Hoechst Pakistan Limited, which fell by Rs153.86 to Rs3,041.09 per share; Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs56.65 to Rs22,911.32 per share.

Muhammad Hasan Ather, an analyst at JS Global, said multiple catalysts drove the rally, including Fitch’s credit upgrade and progress on circular debt resolution. “These developments signal potentially lower inflation ahead, while new real estate taxation relief further buoyed sentiment,” he said. “The market’s decisive break above 117,000 establishes solid momentum that could propel the index toward 118,500 in the near term, particularly if foreign inflows accelerate on improved macroeconomic indicators.”

Maple Leaf remained the volume leader with 23.794 million shares, which closed higher by Rs3.81 to Rs64.57 per share. BO Punjab, with 23.321 million shares, followed it, which closed higher by 15 paisas to Rs11.26 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included Cnergyico PK, Fauji Cement, National Bank XD, WorldCall Telecom, Pace (Pak) Ltd, Sui South Gas, Hascol Petrol and United Bank.

In the futures market, 309 companies recorded trading, 163 of which increased, 136 decreased, and 10 remained unchanged.