In the wake of the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) monetary policy pronouncement Monday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s KSE-100 index lost 660 points, or 1.53 percent. The benchmark KSE-100 index dropped more than 500 points in the first hour of trade on Monday, putting pressure on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). The benchmark interest rate was raised by 150 basis points by the State Bank of Pakistan after the session ended, bringing it to a record high of 13.75 percent. Most of the market expected the central bank to raise interest rates by nearly 100 basis points, while only a small portion predicted that the policy rate would remain unchanged. In addition to worries over the economic crisis and IMF bailout revival, investors’ confidence was shattered by these issues. Due to investors’ pessimism about the monetary policy statement, the day began with an initial decline. Minor swings were noted from this point on in the index’s trading. This new selling spree helped to ease some of the losses that had been accrued by the conclusion of the day. The KSE-100 closed Monday’s trading session down 660.46 points, or 1.53pc, to a final value of 42,440.25. Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said his team will seek a “break” from the International Monetary Fund because the government could not raise the pricing of oil. There are many experts who believe that resuming the IMF programme is critical, as it would open the door to additional finance by other lenders. It was Ismail’s opinion that the Pakistani population could not endure a large increase in POL rates. Pakistan and the international lender are now in discussions. According to Miftah, Pakistan intends to ask the IMF for a ‘break’ in the price of petroleum products.An Arif Habib Limited report claimed that the market had a bloodbath day as investors stayed pessimistic all day. By the end of the day, investors remained gloomy, according to a report from Arif Habib Limited. At 200.93 rupees to one dollar, the rupiah fell for the 13th straight day. The main board’s volumes remained flat, although heavy volumes were noted in stocks on the third tier, according to the report. Cement (112.71 points), fertiliser (90.37 points) and oil and gas exploration (90.37 points) were the three sectors that dragged down the benchmark index (79.34 points). The all-stock index’s volume dropped from 189.9 million to 118.99 million shares the day before. From Rs3.83 billion in the previous session, shares traded decreased to Rs3.58 billion this time around. There were 9.98 million Silkbank shares, followed by 7.62 million shares from WorldCall Telecom and 6.12 million shares from K-Electric Limited. Shares of 314 firms were traded, with 48 seeing their prices rise, 250 seeing their prices fall, and 16 seeing their prices stay the same.