Buying momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday after Pakistani authorities and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) on the fourth review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the third review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). By 11:10 a.m., the benchmark KSE-100 Index had risen 569.12 points, or 0.34%, to hover at 169,149.52.
Thursday’s intraday rally builds on Wednesday’s positive close, when value-buying at lower levels—particularly across oil and gas and refinery scrips—helped the market absorb intraday profit-taking and add 120.30 points (0.07%) to settle at 168,580.41.
Across Thursday morning’s session, institutional and retail accumulation was visible across core heavyweights:
- Key Advancing Sectors: Automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies (E&Ps), oil marketing companies (OMCs), and power generation.
- Index-Heavy Gainers: Lucky Cement (LUCK), MCB Bank (MCB), Meezan Bank (MEBL), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), United Bank Limited (UBL), Mari Energies (MARI), Oil & Gas Development Company (OGDC), Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Hub Power (HUBCO), and Attock Refinery Limited (ARL) all traded firmly in the green.
“Upon approval by the IMF Executive Board, Pakistan will gain access to roughly $1 billion under the Extended Fund Facility and $210 million under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility, lifting cumulative disbursements to $5.7 billion.”
The Macro Catalyst: $1.21 Billion IMF Inflow Lifts Market Confidence
The primary driver behind Thursday’s upbeat sentiment is the successful conclusion of dual IMF program reviews. Subject to formal endorsement by the IMF Executive Board, the newly signed Staff-Level Agreement will unlock a combined ~$1.21 billion in external financing:
- Extended Fund Facility (EFF – 4th Review): Unlocks approximately $1.0 billion under the flagship $7 billion bailout program.
- Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF – 3rd Review): Releases approximately $210 million in climate and structural resilience financing.
- Cumulative Program Disbursements: Once the Executive Board signs off on the tranches, total disbursements to Pakistan across both arrangements will reach roughly $5.7 billion.
| Market & Macro Indicator | Intraday / Program Figures |
| KSE-100 Index (11:10 AM Intraday) | 169,149.52 (+569.12 points / +0.34%) |
| Previous Close (Wednesday) | 168,580.41 (+120.30 points / +0.07%) |
| IMF EFF 4th Review Tranche | ~$1.0 Billion |
| IMF RSF 3rd Review Tranche | ~$210 Million |
| Total Cumulative IMF Disbursements | ~$5.7 Billion (under EFF & RSF) |
| Top Active Green Stocks | LUCK, MCB, MEBL, NBP, UBL, MARI, OGDC, PSO, HUBCO, ARL |
Global Markets Contrast: Bond Strains and AI Debt Spree Weigh on Asian Equities
While domestic equities advanced on the IMF breakthrough, regional Asian markets slipped on Thursday as sovereign bond yields faced fresh upward pressure from rising oil prices and a massive wave of corporate debt issuance by global technology giants competing for limited capital.
- Asian & Western Equity Indices: Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.9%, South Korea’s benchmark declined 0.6%, and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged down 0.1%. On Wall Street, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures traded flat, while European futures—including EUROSTOXX 50, DAX, and FTSE—ticked up 0.1% following Wednesday’s losses.
- Sovereign Bond & Currency Pressures: Although a strong overnight auction of US 10-year Treasury notes pulled yields slightly below 24-year peaks, elevated borrowing costs kept global equities cautious and bolstered the US dollar. Meanwhile, the euro dropped near 17-month lows as fiscal anxieties in France spilled over into Italian and Greek sovereign debt markets.
- Tech AI Debt Surge: According to The Wall Street Journal and broader market reports, Broadcom, SpaceX, and Oracle are seeking tens of billions of dollars in debt financing to procure artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Broadcom is reportedly pursuing $50 billion in financing, while SpaceX plans to issue $30 billion in investment-grade bonds alongside $10 billion in loans to purchase processors from Nvidia—which is also a major shareholder in SpaceX. The borrowing plans pushed credit default insurance costs on SpaceX to record highs while weighing on its underlying shares and bonds.
“While global equities slipped amid sovereign bond strains and a multi-billion-dollar AI debt race led by Broadcom and SpaceX, the Pakistan Stock Exchange bucked the regional downturn on the back of its IMF Staff-Level Agreement.”