The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a historic surge on Monday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index closed above the 116,000 mark for the first time.

The index gained 1,867.61 points, or 1.63%, to settle at 116,169.41, after hitting an intra-day high of 116,681.59.

Strong bullish momentum drove the market, with buying activity observed in key sectors such as automobile assemblers, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, and refineries. However, some selling pressure was noted in commercial banks, fertilizers, and power generation.

Notable gainers included energy sector giants like MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, PSO, SNGPL, SSGC, and NRL. In contrast, banking sector heavyweights HBL, MCB, MEBL, and ENGRO closed in the red.

The rally was fuelled by investor optimism ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting scheduled later in the day. Market sentiment was buoyed by expectations of a policy rate cut, supported by key economic indicators.

With the Consumer Price Index (CPI) remaining below 5% and recent T-bill yields dropping to 12% for 3- and 6-month papers, down by 100 and 89 basis points respectively, hopes for continued monetary easing have strengthened.

This historic performance reflects growing confidence in the market, with investors anticipating a favorable economic outlook in the coming months.