Stocks on Thursday topped the 94,200-point mark, fuelled by economic optimism after reports indicated that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised no red flags over Pakistan’s progress on revenue collection commitments, easing fears of an imminent mini-budget with new taxation measures.

As of 12:22pm, the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 865 points, reaching a record high of 94,225 points.

Khurram Schehzad, CEO of Alpha Beta Core, suggests that investor optimism is being driven by the IMF team’s ongoing smooth review, pushing the market into uncharted territory.

Schehzad notes that this raises the likelihood of Pakistan successfully completing the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement.

The IMF mission, after meetings with Pakistani authorities, has reportedly given a thumbs-up to an increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio by nearly 1.5 percentage points — a significant achievement by the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR).

This improvement means there’s no immediate need for additional tax measures through a supplementary finance bill.

It must be noted that the IMF had previously set a target for Pakistan to boost its tax revenues by 1.5% of GDP in the fiscal year 2024-25, targeting a total increase of 3% throughout the 37-month programme.

Last week, The News reported that an IMF delegation would hold talks with Pakistan next week following major “deviations” on performance targets and might urge Islamabad to bring out a mini-budget for “course correction”. The unplanned visit and talks are too early for the first IMF review  — due in the first quarter of 2025.

Commenting on the rally, Ahsan Mehanti Managing Director & CEO at Arif Habib Commodities, said stocks hit a new all-time high led by blue chip scrips on strong earnings’ outlook down the line.

“Rupee stability, receding fears over mini-budget and falling bank lending rates spurred a strong bull-run at the country’s capital market,” Mehanti added.

It was a blue-chip-buying fest today as sectors, such as commercial banks, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, and power generation, stole the show.

Major support came from heavyweights, including MCB Bank, Meezan Bank Limited, National Bank of Pakistan, Hub Power Company, Mari Petroleum Company, Oil & Gas Development Company, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd, and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited.

This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.