KARACHI – The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened the day with significant gains as recent staff-level agreement between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Pakistani authorities for $1.2 billion tranche has lifted investor confidence.
In early session, the KSE-100 index climbed 1,666.48 points to reach 167,142.50 points compared to previous close of 165,476.02 points.
Experts said the positive economic forecast about Pakistan by the IMF has also ignited the spark rally in the stock market.
A day earlier, the benchmark index turned around to bullish trend on Tuesday, gaining 7,032.60 points, a positive change of 4.44 percent, closing at 165,476.02 points against 158,443.42 points last trading day.
A total of 1,179,987,121 shares were traded during the day as compared to 1,365,703,374 shares the previous trading day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs 59.201 billion against Rs 62.465 billion on the last trading day.
As many as 483 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 391 of them recorded gains and 69 sustained losses, whereas the share price of 23 companies remained unchanged.
IMF, Pakistan Staff Level Agreement
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff and the Pakistani have reached a staff-level agreement on the second review under Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
Upon approval by IMF Executive Board, Pakistan would have access to about US$1.0 billion (SDR 760 million) under the EFF and about US$200 million (SDR 154 million) under the RSF, bringing total disbursements under the two arrangements to about US$3.3 billion, according to IMF press release received here Wednesday.
“The IMF team has reached a staff-level agreement with the Pakistani authorities on the second review of the 37-month Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of the 28-month arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF),” the press release added.
The fund said, implementation of the EFF-supported program remained strong adding Pakistan committed to sustaining the fiscal effort to strengthen public finances while providing needed support to the victims of the recent floods; ensuring inflation remains durably within the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) target range; restoring the viability of the energy sector; and advancing structural reforms.
