A significant bullish run was seen on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the KSE-100 rising more than 1,000 points on Monday.
The increase in stock prices was brought on by expectations that the new budget measures would be passed, opening the door for the renewal of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program as well as the lifting of import restrictions after months of being in place.
The benchmark index rose 1067.92 points, or 2.67%, to hover around 41,133.24 at 12:10 p.m.
PSX KSE-100 Index-heavy industries like oil and gas, automakers, cement, chemicals, and commercial banks trading in the green all saw widespread purchasing.
Increase In PSX Stocks Due To Revival of IMF Program
According to experts, the positive trend in the PSX is the result of significant changes that have raised expectations for the IMF program to resume.
“The change of sentiment comes amid a series of developments in recent days, which indicate that the IMF deal is moving in a positive direction,” Sana Tawfik, an analyst at the Arif Habib Limited (AHL), told the newspaper agency.
Several significant events took place this week, including the meeting between IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif outside the Paris Summit.
Following this outcome, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) declared on Friday that all import restrictions would be lifted in order to support the industrial sector.
In addition, the government said on Saturday that it will impose new taxes worth Rs. 215 billion as it considered restarting the IMF Program.
“Market expects good news in the coming days,” Fahad Rauf, Head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities Limited (IISL), told the newspaper agency.
“If a staff-level agreement is inked, then Pakistan would come closer to completing the review. Meanwhile, relaxation could be given by the international lender on the funding gap as well,” he said.
The expert said that the “year-end phenomena” is also playing its part. “The market would remain positive till the fiscal year-end, unless negative news dents the sentiment,” he added.
Waqas Kukadwadia, JS Global’s deputy head of research, made a similar statement.
“The surge in KSE-100 index can be attributed to substantial fiscal revisions amounting to Rs300 billion made in the recently passed Finance bill. These revisions have generated optimism regarding the IMF programme,” he said.
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