Buying rally continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) amid optimism over the IMF front, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the 116,000 level amid a gain of over 750 points during the opening hours of trading on Monday. At 10:05am, the benchmark index was hovering at 116,291.04 level, an increase of 754.88 points or 0.65%. Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas marketing companies and OMCs. Index-heavy stocks including MARI, OGDC, PPL, PSO, SNGPL, MCB, MEBL and NBP traded in the green. During the previous week, the PSX remained positive due to potential development related to settlement of energy circular debt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program. The benchmark KSE-100 index rose by 1,137 points, or 1%, week-on-week, closing at 115,536 points compared to 114,399 points the previous week. The IMF and the Pakistani authorities made ‘significant progress’ toward reaching a Staff Level Agreement (SLA) on the first review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), said IMF mission chief Nathan Porter in a statement Saturday. An IMF team, led by Nathan Porter, visited Islamabad and Karachi from February 24 to March 14, 2025, to hold discussions on the first review of EFF. “Progress has also been made in discussions on the authorities’ climate reform agenda, which aims to reduce vulnerabilities from natural disasters-related risks, and accompanying reforms which could be supported under a possible arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF),” it said. Globally, Chinese stocks were roughly flat on Monday as investors assessed a mixed set of economic data while awaiting further consumption-boosting measures that will be announced later in the day. China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index edged down 0.1%, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3%. The Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was up 1.3%. China’s industrial output slowed in January-February, while retail sales growth accelerated slightly, in a mixed start for the economy this year as policymakers navigate mounting pressure from U.S. trade tariffs. This is an intra-day update