KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its bullish momentum on Thursday amid hopes for disbursement of $1.2 billion loan tranche by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next month.
As the trading continues, the KSE-100 index benchmark climbed by 1,055.80 points to reach 164,244.33 points, reflecting an increase of 0.65 percent compared to previous close of 163,188.53 points.
The IMF Executive Board will meet on Dec. 8, according to an official calendar, to consider and approve a $1.2 billion disbursement for Pakistan, a move economists say will further stabilize the cash-strapped country’s economy.
The upcoming board meeting comes nearly two months after the Fund reached a Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) with Pakistan for the second review of its $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of its $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The SLA followed a mission led by IMF chief Iva Petrova, who held discussions with Pakistani authorities during a Sept. 24–Oct. 8 visit to Karachi, Islamabad and Washington, DC.
Board approval would unlock about $1 billion under the EFF and $200 million under the RSF, bringing total disbursements under both arrangements to approximately $3.3 billion.
A day earlier, the benchmark KSE-100 index turned around to bullish momentum, surging by 1,496.04 points, or 0.93 percent, to close at 163,188.53 points compared to 161,692.49 points on the previous trading day.
A total of 636.40 million shares were traded in the ready market with a value of Rs30.91 billion, up from 590.53 million shares worth Rs22.15 billion in the previous session. Market capitalisation also increased to Rs18.512 trillion from Rs18.416 trillion.
Out of 474 active companies, 136 closed higher, 290 declined, while 48 remained unchanged.
