Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained bullish for the second session in a row on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 862.15 points (+1.20 percent) to close at 72,764.24 points. The market opened with a gap of 500 points and remained in the green throughout the session. Overall, the benchmark index gained 2,106.6 points during the last two sessions. The index has surged 73.4 percent over the past year and is up 12.9 percent year-to-date. The market remained up following news of the delegation’s arrival with an IMF statement regarding a mission visit. A Saudi delegation arrived in Islamabad on Sunday for talks on trade and investment opportunities, particularly in the exploration and production sectors. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission is expected to visit Pakistan this month to discuss a program, the lender said on Sunday ahead of Islamabad beginning its annual budget-making process for the next financial year. The IMF did not specify the dates of the visit, nor the size or duration of the program. This positive market momentum was also fueled by decreasing inflation rates. The latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) indicated an year-on-year (YoY) 17.3% decline in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April 2024. This figure represents a drop from the previous month’s 20.7% YoY and a decrease from April 2023’s 36.4% YoY. The developments on the privatization front have also played a due role in boosting the investors’ sentiments. The benchmark index traded in a range of 598.25 points, showing an intraday high of 73,060.74 points and an intraday low of 72,462.49 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 431.17 points (+0.91 percent) to close at 47,351.15 points. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 249.39 points (+0.73 percent) to close at 33,965.50 points. Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index remained 313.38 million shares, while the overall market volumes remained 578.39 million shares. Among scrips, PAEL topped the volumes with 48.44 million shares, followed by FCCL (40.36 million) and KEL (26.78 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included PAEL, FCCL, KEL, WTL and HASCOL, which formed over 28 percent of total volumes. A total of 387 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of which shares of 257 closed up, shares of 107 companies closed down while shares of 23 companies remained unchanged. A total of 99 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index, out of which share prices of 70 companies closed up, 28 companies closed down and one remained unchanged. The number of total trades remained 262,028, while the value traded was recorded at Rs24.52 billion. In terms of rupee, SAPT remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs84.42 (+7.1 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,274.22. The runner-up remained UPFL, the share price of which climbed up by Rs67.52 (+0.35 percent) to Rs19,474.5. HPL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs66.13 (-5.09 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,233.87, followed by SFL, the share price of which fell by Rs30.25 (-2.04 percent) to close at Rs1,449.5 per share. The major sectors taking the index towards north remained fertilizer (147 points), investment banks/investment companies/ securities companies (138 points), commercial banks (117 points), cement (111 points), power and distribution companies (85 points), pharmaceuticals (72 points), textile composite (57 points), automobile assemblers and cable and electrical goods (25 points each), and food and personal care products (23 points).