KARACHI: The buying rally at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing above the 117,000 mark, marking a gain of over 800 points.

The index surged 801.50 points or 0.69%, settling at 117,001.09, after hitting an intra-day high of 117,202.09. Bullish sentiment prevailed across key sectors, with significant gains in oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies (OMCs), power generation, and refineries.

Index-heavy stocks such as HUBCO, ARL, PRL, PSO, SNGPL, OGDC, POL, and PPL closed in the green, contributing to the index's strong performance. In a significant development, officials cited a prevailing trust deficit as a reason for the delay in reaching a staff-level agreement under the ongoing IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF). This delay is a critical issue for Pakistan's economic future as it affects potential external financial support. Additionally, Pakistan's current account (C/A) posted a deficit of $12 million in February 2025, compared to a surplus of $71 million in the same month last year, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). 

However, on a month-on-month basis, the current account showed improvement, recovering from a deficit of $399 million in January 2025. On the international front, Hong Kong's stock market rose to three-year highs, leading Asian markets higher as investors reacted positively to data from China and expectations of further support for consumption. The Chinese yuan and the Australian dollar also gained, reflecting optimism regarding China's economic outlook. Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee saw a marginal decline of 0.04% against the US dollar, closing at 280.27.

Trading volume on the all-share index decreased to 449.48 million shares, down from 507.51 million in the previous session, with the value of shares also declining to Rs29.18 billion from Rs34.11 billion. Pak Int.Bulk led in volume, followed by B.O.Punjab and Fauji Cement.