Stocks Surge as Finance Bill 2025 Gains Approval

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a resurgence of investor confidence as the government successfully passed the Finance Bill, 2025. During Friday’s morning trading session, the benchmark KSE-100 Index soared by nearly 1,600 points.

As of 12pm, the KSE-100 Index was recorded at 123,628.23, reflecting an increase of 1,581.77 points, which translates to a 1.30% rise.

Widespread buying activity was evident across several vital sectors, including automobile manufacturers, cement producers, commercial banking institutions, oil and gas exploration firms, oil marketing companies (OMCs), and refineries, all of which showed positive trading activity. Major stocks such as MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, PSO, SSGC, HBL, MCB, and UBL also experienced gains.

The National Assembly approved the Finance Bill, 2025 on Thursday, outlining a total expenditure of Rs17.57 trillion for the fiscal year 2025-26. The approval incorporated certain revisions and was secured with the backing of coalition partners.

The bill’s passage involved a clause-by-clause review, during which all proposed amendments from the opposition were turned down.

Earlier on Thursday, the PSX faced a volatile session, with the KSE-100 Index declining due to sustained selling pressure and a cautious outlook among investors.

The KSE-100 Index had previously closed at 122,046.46 points, marking a loss of 715.18 points.

Global Market Overview

Asian markets reached their highest point in over three years, mirroring a rally on Wall Street. However, the dollar faced challenges due to concerns about the Federal Reserve’s autonomy and expectations of imminent rate reductions.

Global stock indices are poised to conclude the week positively, with anxieties surrounding Middle East tensions and uncertainties related to tariffs and trade agreements taking a backseat for the time being.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares, excluding Japan, achieved its highest level since November 2021 during the early trading session. It was last trading 0.2% higher, on track for a weekly gain of 3%.

Japan’s Nikkei index rose by 1.5%, surpassing the 40,000 threshold for the first time in five months.

Contributing to the positive sentiment was news of an agreement between Washington and Beijing to expedite rare earth shipments to the United States.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Thursday that he has requested Republicans in Congress to withdraw the Section 899 retaliatory tax proposal from their tax and spending bill, following an agreement between Washington and the Group of Seven industrial nations.

This information reflects an intra-day market update.