KARACHI: The Karachi stock market hit an all-time high on Monday following Nawaz Sharif’s strong victory in landmark elections, which revived hopes the steel tycoon’s pro-business agenda could spark an economic revival.

The benchmark index of top 100 shares rose by 1.65 per cent to 20,244 points, surpassing the 20,000 mark for the first time.

Investors are hopeful of an economic revival under Mr Sharif whose pro-business policies earned him a good reputation among traders and industrialists during his two previous tenures in the 1990s.

“He liberalised the economy by launching a privatisation programme and liberalised the financial sector allowing foreign investors to step into Pakistani capital markets,” said Mohammad Sohail, the chief of a leading brokerage house in Karachi.