The bulls dominated Tuesday’s session at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), propelling the benchmark KSE-100 Index to an unprecedented close powered by strong investor sentiment following fresh IMF support.

After surging to an intraday high of 1,297 points, the index settled at a record 169,456, gaining 1,153 points, or 0.69%, the highest closing level in the market’s history.

The rally came a day after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board approved a $1.3 billion disbursement for Pakistan under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

The decision, which includes a $1 billion EFF tranche and $300 million under the RSF, immediately unlocked funds and reinforced confidence that the $8.4 billion programme is firmly on track.

According to a Topline Securities market report, strong and persistent buying by local mutual funds played a central role in sustaining the upward momentum.

Market heavyweights FFC, LUCK, HBL, PSO, and MLCF steered the gains, jointly contributing around 640 points to the benchmark’s ascent.

Trading activity remained robust, with total volumes hitting 1.022 billion shares, while overall turnover surged to Rs51.1 billion.

K-Electric (KEL) led the session with 86.7 million shares traded.

With healthy flows, stabilising macro indicators, and renewed confidence following the IMF decision, the PSX’s record close underscores the bullish sentiment driving the market to new highs.