Pakistan stocks plunge 725 points on IMF program delay

KARACHI: Pakistan stocks plunged by 725 points on Friday owing to delay in loan program of International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) fell to 41,742 points from previous day’s closing of 42,467 points, showing a decline of 725 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the bears ambushed the PSX during the day, following a string of bullish sessions that ended the business week on a sour note.

The market opened in the red and moved in the same region throughout both sessions after it was reported last night that the staff-level agreement between the government and the IMF mission would take some time, giving the bears an advantage as the index fell to 803 points intraday.

The E&P sector remained in the spotlight as investors’ morale was shattered following the finance minister’s statement on the resolution of the Gas Circular Debt stated in a press conference. Across the board, volumes stayed stable.

Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P’s (-199.8 points), Fertilizer (-98.3 points), Commercial Banks (-97.9 points), Power Generation & Distribution (-81.9 points), and Cement (-75.1 points).

Volumes decreased from 297.7 million shares to 281.9 million shares (-5.3 per cent DoD). The average traded value increased by 22.4 per cent to USD 54.6 million as against USD 44.6 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes are OGDC, PPL, WTL, HUBC and SNGP.