Daily Times

Due to political clarity and confidence about the beginning of talks between the Pakistani government and the International Monetary Fund, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended advances on Wednesday and the benchmark KSE-100 index again breached the 43,000 point level (IMF). There will be a respite for Pakistan’s struggling economy and support for the country’s macroeconomic indices if negotiations between the two sides succeed. They will also serve as a safety net for the declining rupee, which closed the inter-bank market on Wednesday at Rs198.39 per dollar. The market started the day on a downward trend, but strong investor sentiments helped the index recover and push it to an intraday high of 435 points. The market closed the day at a new all-time high. Around lunchtime, the market started to partially retreat, which was buoyed by the continued devaluation of the rupee, which caused the rally to lose some of its steam. Before ending on a more optimistic note, the KSE-100 index engaged in trading that was contained inside a narrow range for the remainder of the day and recorded only slight movements. On Wednesday, the KSE-100 gained 300.82 points, or 0.7 percent, to conclude the day at 43,026.88, its highest level ever. A report from Capital Stake stated that PSX rallied, with indexes trading in the green for the majority of the day as volume increased from the previous close. Investors’ optimism was bolstered by the news that Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were negotiating a staff-level agreement to deliver a $1 billion tranche under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).