Shares at PSX hit all-time high as KSE-100 crosses 130,000-point benchmark

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another rally as shares in the KSE-100 index benchmark crossed 130,000-point benchmark for the first time in history on Wednesday. 

This surge occurred on the second day of the fiscal year 2025–26.

The KSE-100 index rose by 1,973.31 at 12:55 am during intraday trading, reaching 130,172.73 points. Earlier, the market closed at 128,1993.42, gaining 2,404 points.

The Ahsan Mehanti, Managing Director and CEO of Arif Habib Commodities, attributed the all-time high trading to the economic indicators, stating that “government’s projections for surging exports and inflation rate at 5-7% in FY2026,” reboosted investors’ confidence.

“Government's abolishment of export duty on industrial power tariff and surging global crude oil prices played a catalyst role in bullish activity at PSX,” he added.

Read: PSX crosses 128,000 mark as bullish momentum continues into FY2025-26

Pakistan’s inflation rate eased to 3.23% year-on-year in June 2025, as prices of food, utilities, and other essential goods continued to decline, according to official data released on Tuesday.

For the full fiscal year 2024–25, average annual inflation came in at 4.49%, the lowest level in almost 10 years. The sharp drop strengthens expectations that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) may further reduce interest rates, after already cutting them from a peak of 22% to 11%.

The decline in inflation was largely driven by reduced food prices. Food inflation fell to 2.56% in June, compared to 3.07% in May. 

Meanwhile, perishable food items continued to record deflation for the sixth straight month, though the decline moderated slightly to -10.55% from -9.2% in the previous month.