There is no let-up in the record-making spree of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the benchmark KSE-100 Index breached the 66,000 points milestone for the first time in history on Friday. Besides this achievement, the benchmark index registered the highest ever weekly gain of 4,532.38 this week, breaking the previous weekly gain record achieved in April 2020. Moreover, the index retained its winning streak for the 10th straight week, which has been the longest since 2021. Last but not least, the index registered the fifth-highest daily point gain in its history. The benchmark index gained 1,505.56 points (+2.33 percent) amid the ongoing bull-run to close the session at 66,223.63 points on Friday. The index has gained 24,771 points during the current fiscal year and 25,804 points during the ongoing calendar year. The bullish momentum was driven by IMF Mission Chief to Pakistan Nathan Porter’s statement, wherein he praised the actions and policies of the Pakistani authorities, attributing them to the overall enhancement of the economic situation. Moreover, the IMF’s executive board is scheduled to meet on January 11, 2024 to consider final approval for the disbursement of the next $700 million tranche from its current loan programme. The investors are encouraged by the improvement in the country’s financial indicators, such as the extension of $3 billion deposit by Saudi Arabia, the expected $2 billion inflow from the World Bank in FY24, the above-target tax collection by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and the relatively stable rupee. The market experts believe that the interest rates have peaked and are likely to decline from 2024. The benchmark index traded in a range of 1,218.56 points, showing an intraday high of 66,273.73 points and an intraday low of 65,055.17 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 845.47 points (+1.93 percent) to close at 43,881.52 points. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 485.61 points (+1.51 percent) to close at 32,122.87 points. Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index increased by 53 million shares to 818.34 million shares against 765.34 million shares traded in the previous session. The overall market volumes increased by 13.02 million shares to 1,329.55 million shares against 1,316.53 million shares traded a session earlier. Among scrips, KEL topped the volumes with 342.54 million shares, followed by WTL (98.56 million) and PTC (58.74 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included KEL, WTL, PTC, KOSM, and FFL, which formed over 45 percent of total volumes. A total of 394 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 401 in the previous session, out of which shares of 257 closed up, shares of 126 companies closed down while shares of 11 companies remained unchanged. A total of 98 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 100 in the previous session, out of which share prices of 69 companies closed up, 28 companies closed down and one remained unchanged. The number of total trades decreased to 306,856 from 363,523 in previous session, while the value traded decreased by Rs3.80 billion to Rs33.38 against Rs37.18 billion in the previous session. In terms of rupee, NESTLE remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs200.02 (+2.3 percent) per share, closing at Rs8,900. The runner-up remained SFL, the share price of which climbed up by Rs97.31 (+6.91 percent) to Rs1,505. UPFL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs599.75 (-2.7 percent) per share, closing at Rs21,600.25, followed by ISIL, the share price of which fell by Rs95 (-6.81 percent) to close at Rs1,300 per share. The major sectors taking the index towards north remained commercial banks (696 points), fertilizer (184 points), 0il & gas exploration companies (181 points), oil & gas marketing companies (97 points), and power generation & distribution (93 points). The major companies adding points to the index remained MCB (166 points), HBL (150 points), BAHL (105 points), UBL (101 points), and EFERT (89 points). The sectors taking the index towards south were automobile assembler (11 points), refinery (2 points), and glass & ceramics (1 point). The major companies depriving the index of points remained SYS (22 points), MTL (14 points), LUCK (11 points), and BWCL and UPFL (6 points each).