- KSE-100 jumps 50.2%, outperforming Asia’s giants and proving Pakistan’s investor resilience
International experts recorded that in 2025 global equity markets have delivered mixed performance so far, with US stocks selling off sharply in April. Meanwhile, European markets have surged because of easing monetary policy from the European Central Bank (ECB), also a rebound in industrial activity across the region.
Several of the world’s top performing equity markets are located in Europe. One reason for this is the ECB’s recent rate cut decision, which reduced the three key ECB interest rates by 25 basis points in April. Another reason is rising business activity across the eurozone, driven by German manufacturing. No doubt, the equity market, usually referred to as the stock market, is where shares of publicly listed companies are issued and traded. Companies raise capital through Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) by issuing new shares which are later traded on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).
In Pakistan, the government officials analyzed that during July-March FY 2025, the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 index performed remarkably well and recorded a significant growth of 50.2 percent (from 78,445 to 117,807 points). During the period under review, the index ended at its highest level of 118,770 points on March 20, 2025, while the lowest level was observed at 77,084 points on August 05, 2024. The unprecedented performance of the KSE-100 index can be associated with the robust corporate earnings, falling policy rate and inflation, successful first IMF EEF program review and subsequent disbursement of the tranche, and stable macroeconomic environment, which boosted investors’ confidence. They also analyzed that the average daily volume surged to 828 million shares compared to 621 million shares witnessed during FY 2024.
As of March 31, 2025, the number of listed companies reached at 527, with total listed capital of Rs 1,727 billion and market capitalization of Rs 14,374 billion. The turnover reached its peak in December 2024, showing that investors were actively investing and participating in trading activities.
| World Bank Economic Forecasts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Details | 2023 | 2024e | 2025f |
| World* | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| AEs | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| EMs | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
| EMXC | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.8 |
| China | 5.2 | 4.9 | 4.5 |
| US | 2.9 | 2.8 | 2.3 |
| Euro area | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.0 |
| India** | 8.2 | 6.5 | 6.7 |
| *‘World’ is GDP growth based on Purchasing Power Parity calculation methodology. AEs = Advanced economies, EMs = Emerging market and developing economies, EMXC = EMs excluding China.e = estimate, f = forecast. **The Indian numbers are based on fiscal years. | |||
Total funds mobilized between July and March FY 2025 in the PSX amounted to Rs 9,740.6 million, which comprises Rs 8,991 million of capital of new listing, while the debt issued stood at Rs 750 million. Around $ 242 million worth of securities were offloaded through foreign investors which were absorbed by domestic investors. Statistics showed that PSX’s market capitalization registered Rs 10,375 billion ($ 37.3 billion) on 30 June 2024. It ended at Rs 14,374 billion ($ 51.30 billion) on 31 March 2025, reflecting a rise of 38.5 percent (Rs 4,000 billion) in the period under review.
As evident from the figure, Commercial Banks dominate overall market capitalization with a share of 18.7 percent followed through Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 17.4 percent, Food & Personal Care Products with 9.2 percent, Cement 8.3 percent and Fertilizer 7.2 percent. These five sectors occupy 60.8 percent of the total market capitalization.
Furthermore, all global equity markets revealed a positive trend except the Bombay Sensex 30 index. Compared to the other global indices, the KSE100 index reflects a significant increase (50.2 percent) during July-March FY 2025. This shows positive market sentiments and investors’ trust in the PSX. Moreover, the performance of major Asian stock market indices presents a diverse situation from end-June 2024 to end-March 2025.
KSE-100 Index remained the most attractive market for investors with an unprecedented increase of 50.2 percent, followed by Hang Seng of Hong Kong (30.5 percent), FTSE Straits Times of Singapore (18.3 percent), Shanghai Composite of China (12.4 percent), and VN30 Index of Vietnam (6.7 percent). However, fall has been observed in the Korean Composite Index, the SET Index of Thailand, the Jakarta Composite Index, the PSEi Composite of the Philippines, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index of Malaysia, and the BSE Sensex 30 of India.