The Rs1.2 trillion relief package and the second rate cut within a week seemed enough initially to turn majority sentiment at the PSX. But, as they say in life and especially in the markets, if something looks too good to be true, it often is. Just around noon, then, market sentiment seemed to shift once more and just as the market rose, it dropped; closing only very slightly, 38.4 points, in the green. That happened, just as value hunters engaged in some welcome bottom fishing, because a steeply rising dollar beat all pro-risk sentiment right out of the market. Few analysts in Pakistan are able to correctly explain local currency swings particularly when the dollar moves because of factors completely outside our control. The greenback is, after all, one of the most trusted safe haven investments. Whenever there is global trouble, investors flock to the safety of the dollar, in addition to other traditional havens like the Japanese Yen and Swiss franc. And with more and more funds flowing into the dollar all over the world, Pakistan being no different, there also came the disturbing reality of capital flight. Since a great exodus of portfolio investment as well as hot money has already spooked the market, yet more dollar flight quickly sobered exuberant traders and things closed more or less flat. The government has done well to provide the kind of support that was at least able to stop the constant bleeding on the trading floor. Yet it would be a grave mistake to take yesterday’s short lived rally as a reversal. Such movement is often a classic indicator of what pundits call a bear market bounce. It is important to note that the government cannot endlessly prop up the market. And since things are unlikely to change in the near term, because the world is no closer to a vaccine than it was a couple of months ago, the government must urgently make efforts to raise more finances in the months to come. Already the finance ministry has said it will go to the World Bank, IMF and ADB for more loans to weather the coronavirus storm. No doubt lenders would be under all sorts of pressure since all the poor countries would be approaching them for emergency finance. That is why it is all the more important to present and argue our case at the earliest. Till we solve our financial problems, the market will keep teaching us painful lessons. *