The cheer in Pakistan in not restricted to its cricket stadiums. The Karachi bourse is on a one-year winning streak, powering ahead when the Sensex is drooping, much in the nature of the two countries' teams on the cricket field.
Bulls from around the world have assembled at the Karachi Stock Exchange, which closed today with its index, the KSE-100, at an all-time high of 5,000, up 100 per cent in the past year. And the upward climb seems unstoppable, as do Inzamam's men.
The KSE-100 has been rising all the while as the world's major indices treaded deeper into negative territory. The Sensex and Nifty are both down 12 per cent from their trailing year's highs on January 14, 2004.
The Nasdaq and Hang Seng are down around 9 per cent from their year's highs. And the Dow, CAC-40 and Jakarta Composite are 4 per cent below theirs.
But there is no looking back in Karachi. "The market has the potential to go beyond 5,500. It is just a matter of time," says Yasin Lakhani, a stockbroker on the KSE.
"Sectors like fuel, power and cement have a big growth potential and will take the market to new highs."
The major drivers in the run-up to 5,000 are 53 stocks in the KSE-100 basket that appreciated over 100 per cent each in the past year. The top gainers are industrials like cement and oil.
Between March 18, 2003, and March 18, 2004, index heavyweight Maple Leaf Cement appreciated 544 per cent, Pakistan Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation went up 419.44 per cent and Thal Jute rose 309.23 per cent.
The smallest gains in the index went to Rafhan Best Food, which climbed 7 per cent during the previous 52 weeks.
