Daily Times

Uncertainty about the IMF talks drained market confidence, as the KSE-100 Index finished 715 points or 1.52 percent lower to close at 46,400 on Tuesday. Over 800 points were wiped off the market’s value during intra-day trading. Closed with a loss of 715.13 points or 1.52 percent, the KSE-100 Index was 46.399.91 points.

Economic analysts blamed the unfavourable market move on “news related uncertainties over talks with the IMF. As a result of Shaukat Tarin’s comments on SBP autonomy, investors in Pakistan’s stock and foreign exchange markets were alarmed, according to the advisor to the prime minister on finance and revenue.

Last week, Tarin told the media that the IMF would announce the restoration of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan within the next day or two.

IMF’s declaration that it will provide $1 billion in aid to Pakistan is still unclear to the market.

To get the SBP Amendment Bill, 2021 passed, Tarin stated that a constitutional amendment would be necessary but that the administration did not have a two-thirds majority in parliament to do so.

For the Pakistan-IMF agreement to go through, Tarin disclosed that an amendment bill had to be passed before it could go through. The foreign selling is also contributing to the existing gloomy atmosphere, as Pakistan is expected to join the MSCI Frontier Market in the coming days.

The MSCI reclassification is also a factor, and CAD statistics are predicted to fall on a monthly basis, but the inflation rate is projected to remain over nine percent.

Local cement dispatches fell 5pc YoY for October in the Northern region, while the South saw an increase of 11pc YoY, according to the latest data available.