Daily Times

Investor confidence was boosted by a slew of positive triggers on Monday, which resulted in the benchmark KSE-100 Index rising 2.01 percent.

The KSE-100 has rebounded after a ‘super tax’ was imposed on 13 sectors by the government on Friday, which resulted in a drop of 1,665.18 points or 3.9 percent on the KSE-100 index.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected to transmit a draught of the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP), which indicates that the two parties have reached an agreement. This resulted in a rise in stock market confidence.

As of the closing bell, the KSE-100 index had risen by 826.78 points, or 2.01pc, to reach 41,878.57 points.

Before the passage of the Federal Budget 2022-23, the government hopes to reach a conclusion with the IMF on an agreement that will allow for the resumption of the $6b initiative.

After it was revealed that the levy will be a one-time-only payment, investors shrugged off the negative sentiment that formed on Friday as a result of the imposition of a super tax. This caused the market to surge higher.

In an effort to relieve the general people of tax burdens, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Friday a 10 percent poverty alleviation tax or “super tax” on large businesses. Cement, steel, sugar, oil and gas, fertiliser, LNG, textiles, banks, automobiles, drinks, chemicals, cigarettes, and airlines all face the levy.

Federal Finance Minister Miftah Ismail explained that the tax will only be in effect for the fiscal year 2022-2023.

To start the week off right, Topline Securities noted that Pakistani stocks had performed well due to the arrival of $2.3b in Chinese money over the weekend, progress on resuming IMF programming, and a window dressing aspect ahead of fiscal year-end.

Banking (182.17 points), fertiliser (96.84 points), and cement were some of the top contributors to the KSE-100’s upward trend (93.30 points).

The total number of shares traded fell to 247.9m from Friday’s 424.2m, a decrease in volume. From Rs12.8b in the previous session, shares exchanged were worth Rs7.38b. Treet Corporation came in second with 19.93m shares, followed by K-Electric with 32.04m, and Unity Foods Limited with 14.4m.

On Monday, 333 firms’ shares were traded, with 228 rising, 90 falling, and 15 remaining constants.