KSE-100 index plunges over 1,000 points

KARACHI: Just a day after the cabinet was sworn in, bears on Tuesday gripped the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the benchmark index tumbled by over 1,000 points during the intraday trading.

The benchmark KSE-100 index fell to 64,694.27 as it lost 1,061.03 points or 1.61% from the previous close of 65,755.30.

Speaking to a news channel, business journalist Afreen Mirza said that the market was down because of the announcement of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led cabinet, in which the “most important Q-block has been handed over to Aurangzeb”.

“Investors are reacting to the news as rumours suggest that the government has assigned Aurangzeb the portfolio of the finance ministry, with the additional responsibility of the Revenue Division. This suggests that another minister will eventually take over this portfolio,” she added.

Mirza further said that the second reason behind the decline is that investors are sceptical about the International Monetary Fund (IMF) talks that are set to begin this week.

A day earlier, the stock market closed slightly lower after hitting a high of over 66,100 points earlier in the session, as investors weighed the prospects of a new government and its economic policies.

The KSE-100 shed 38.45 points or 0.06% to close at 65,755.31 points.

“Stocks closed under pressure amid weak global equities and concerns for economic uncertainty,” said analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib.

He said uncertainty over the monetary policy announcement on March 18 and concerns over the outcome of government negotiations for new IMF loans played a catalyst role in the negative close.