PSX extends recovery drive despite flood warnings

Despite wa­­r­nings of super floods in Sindh following devastating monsoon rains in Pun­jab and Khyber Pakh­tun­khwa — bringing the rural economy to a halt, disrupting supply chains, and triggering a spike in perishable prices — the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its recovery for a second consecutive session on Monday. The market defied macroeconomic pressures as investors engaged in selective buying, helping the benchmark KSE-100 index surge by 1,353.34 points, or 0.91 per cent, to close at 149,971.12, according to Topline Securities. Market sentiment tur­ned sharply positive after Pakistan’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for August came in at 3pc, down from 4.1pc in July — well below analysts’ expectations. The surprise data revived optimism, spurring buying across several sectors, particularly cement.