Investor sentiment saw a turnaround on Friday, with the stock market clawing back yesterday’s losses, as a lack of fresh escalation on the geopolitical front offered much-needed relief.
“After falling sharply by 6% yesterday due to drone attacks, Pakistani stocks have recovered and are up 2% in the first 30 minutes of trading on Friday,” said Topline Securities CEO Mohammad Sohail.
“So far, there has been no news of any major escalation helping in restoring confidence,” he added.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index climbed to an intraday high of 105,946.01 points, gaining 2,419.2 points, or 2.33%, from the previous close of 103,526.81.
The index recorded a low of 103,792.35, still up 265.54 points, or 0.26%, indicating steady upward momentum through early hours.
Investor focus is firmly fixed on the IMF Executive Board meeting taking place today, where a $1.3 billion disbursement under Pakistan’s ongoing 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) is up for approval.
The Board will also consider Islamabad’s request to modify performance criteria and to access funds under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The IMF and the Government of Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement in March during the first review of the $7 billion programme.
If approved, the upcoming tranche would bring total disbursements to approximately $2 billion.
Friday’s movements come a day after the PSX suffered its worst single-day decline in history, as the KSE-100 Index plunged by 6,482.21 points, or 5.89%, to close at 103,526.81 on Thursday.
The market’s circuit breaker was activated after the KSE-30 Index fell more than 5% in five consecutive minutes, leading to a one-hour trading halt.
During Thursday’s session, the KSE-100 had reached a high of 111,881.03 and fell as low as 101,598.91 points.
