The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a historic rally on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index skyrocketing by 1,247 points to an unprecedented intraday high of 152,223 points. This surge, a 0.83% increase from the previous close, marks the second consecutive day of record-breaking performance, following a gain of over 1,000 points just a day earlier. The bullish trend was fueled by robust investor confidence, triggered by the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) positive assessment of the nation’s economic stability. Trading volumes were exceptionally high, with over 1.08 billion shares valued at approximately Rs. 44.42 billion changing hands.
The catalyst for this investor optimism was a speech by SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad at the Pakistan Textile Council (PTC) meeting. Governor Ahmad outlined a dramatic economic turnaround, highlighting that foreign exchange reserves have rebounded from a critical low of $2.8 billion in early 2023 to a healthy $14.3 billion. He further noted that inflation had plummeted to a historic low of 3.2% by June 2025, enabling the central bank to aggressively cut the policy rate from 22% to 11% over the past year.
Based on this strengthened macroeconomic footing, the SBP governor projected an economic growth rate between 3.25% and 4.25% for the fiscal year 2026. He reiterated the central bank’s commitment to maintaining this stability, building reserves, and keeping inflation within a target range of 5-7%, which has significantly bolstered market sentiment.
However, amidst the celebration, the PTC Chairman, Fawad Anwar, struck a note of caution. While acknowledging the macroeconomic improvements, he pointed out that structural barriers and high business costs continue to hamper exporters’ competitiveness. He urgently called for policy interventions, including the withdrawal of import duties on essential raw materials and a uniform duty drawback scheme, to ensure the export sector, particularly textiles, can capitalize on global opportunities and not lose ground to international competitors.
