PSX Drops Below 65,000 As KSE-100 Loses Nearly 1,000 Points On 1st Ramadan

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed in the red today, with the benchmark KSE-100 index losing 1,088 points in intraday trade despite formation of the federal government in the past 24 hours. The benchmark KSE-100 index appeared bearish from the opening bell and immediately dropped into the red zone, initially losing 1,077 points after trading resumed on Tuesday. After opening trade at 65,755 points, the benchmark KSE-100 index fell below 65,000 to 64,678 at 1:00 PM. Later at 1:05 PM, it plunged by up to 1,087 points to 64,667. It settled at 64,801, down 1.45 percent or 954 points. Today’s losses comes less than a day after new Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb said 2024 was economically a difficult year for Pakistan. He called for action, stating that talk alone won’t suffice. Other factors influencing market bears are the potential introduction of new austerity measures to get a quick deal from the International Monetary Fund. The lender’s review mission will arrive in Islamabad on Thursday for the economic review of Pakistan’s $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) and disbursement of the third and final loan tranche of $1.1 billion, Finance Ministry sources told ProPakistani. The highest participation was witnessed in Hascol Petroleum Limited (PSX: HASCOL) with over 29.3 million shares traded, followed by Pakistan International Airlines Corp (PSX: PIAA) and Cnergyico PK Limited (PSX: CNERGY). The scrips had 28.9 million shares and 25.5 million shares traded, respectively.