KSE-100 plummets by over 1000 points

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock exchange (PSX) opened in the green this morning, with the benchmark KSE-100 index increasing slightly by 58.30 points or 0.13 per cent as trading began.

After last night’s close of 46,244.55 points, the market was hovering at 46,302.85 points at 9:45AM.

However this soon began a nose dive. By 12PM the KSE-100 plummeted by 622.44 points, or 1.35 per cent. The market was hovering around 45,622.11 points.

By 2PM the index was even lower by 1085.56 points, a substantial 2.35 per cent, with the market trading at 45,158.99 points.

Towards the closing of the session, the KSE-100 index showed a decline of 1,263 points, hovering around 44,981 points.

Despite the relatively positive opening this morning, it may be noted that the economic and political landscape in Pakistan has been shrouded in uncertainty.

Caretaker finance minister Shamshad Akhtar in a recent statement termed the nation’s economic situation “worse than anticipated”, adding that there is no room for additional subsidies within the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreements.

Akhtar recognised that the IMF agreements entered into by past governments included binding commitments, and she clarified that these agreements inherently contained clauses related to subsidies.

The potential impact of this outlook on trader sentiment remains to play out in the coming week.

Economic situation ‘worse than anticipated’, says Shamshad Akhtar