Daily Times

The market’s hope that Pakistan could be removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list fuelled a 384-point rise in the KSE-100 on Wednesday, continuing the surge that began on Tuesday.

During the first post-budget session on Monday, the KSE-100 Index fell by 1,135 points as investors weighed the potential impact of the government’s new budgetary policies. This was one of the market’s largest falls of the year. With a closing value of 40,879.93 on the KSE-100, it had fallen to its lowest point since November 27, 2020.

As of Wednesday morning’s opening, the market had risen about 500 points, a sign that the situation had improved. Due to the positive mood, investors choose to pick and choose their stocks. After midday, the market lost some of its gains, but it still finished the day with a positive outlook.

A Pakistani delegation is attending the FATF meeting in Germany. The FATF’s plenary will be meeting today to discuss Pakistan’s removal from the heightened monitoring list, also known as the grey list. Pakistan’s $9.2b foreign exchange reserves (as of June 3rd) have been bolstered significantly by China’s agreement to roll over a $2.3b loan and give extra assistance of between $2.5 and $2.8b. This also encouraged the stock market’s buying activity.

To reach a mark of 41,438.79 points, the market experienced an increase of 384.11 points or 0.94pc.

According to a report from Capital Stake, buyers dominated trading on the PSX on Wednesday. While overall activity increased from the previous session’s closing, the markets continued to post gains throughout the day. Concerns over a surge in inflation and a strength in the dollar on foreign markets caused the rupee to close at Rs206.46 to the dollar on the economic front. This was a result of the strengthening of the currency.

Cement (73.58 points), banking (70.56 points), and fertilizer were among the sectors that contributed to the increase in the benchmark KSE-100 index (69.96 points).