PSX remains volatile due to uncertainty over ‘mini-budget’

KARACHI: The Pakistan bourse remained volatile during Tuesday’s trading session on the back of uncertainty surrounding the ‘mini-budget’”, which is a prerequisite to move ahead with the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, analysts said.

An analyst at Pearl Securities said the volatility was further fuelled by the downgrade of Pakistan’s sovereign credit ratings by Fitch, as well as expectation of the political unrest after rejection of a bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

“A slight recovery was witnessed during the tail-end of the trading session, propelled by the expectations of the successful conclusion of the ninth review by the weekend,” the analyst added.

The KSE-100 Index closed at 41,326.85 points, up by 176.69 points, or 0.43 per cent. The All-share volume decreased 27 per cent to 137 million shares against 188 million shares traded on Tuesday.

Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation said that the stocks closed higher led by scrips across-the-board, as the rupee recovery continues on the likely IMF deal.

“The mid-session pressure remained on the Fitch downgrades Pakistan long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to CCC- and uncertainty over the outcome of the Finance Supplementary Bill 2023, which is likely to be passed with additional taxes and a hike in the general sales tax to 18 per cent to meet the IMF conditions.”

Strong financial results and speculations over proposed strong corporate payouts in the oil and gas sector to settle the circular debt crisis, played a catalytic role in the bullish activity at the bourse.

Going forward, the analysts expect volatility to persist in the benchmark KSE-100 Index until the IMF ninth review can be successfully concluded.

Also Read

PSX endures another day of selling pressure

KARACHI: The Pakistan stocks endured another day of selling pressure after political...