https://arab.news/n6xb6
- The KSE-100 Index rose by one percent, or 1,645.90 points, to close at 165,493.58
- IMF mission is in Islamabad to hold second review of i$7 billion Extended Fund Facility
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged past the 165,000 mark for the first time ever, with analysts attributing the record high to expectations of the next International Monetary Fund (IMF) tranche and investment from 海角直播.
The benchmark KSE-100 index rose by one percent or 1,645.90 points to close at 165,493.58 points as compared to the previous close of 163,847.68 points, according to the PSX website.
鈥淪tocks reached a new all-time high at the quarter end close as investor weigh upbeat US-Pakistan relations and expected release of IMF EFF tranche,鈥� Ahsan Mehanti, Chief Executive Officer of Arif Habib Commodities, told Arab News.
The IMF mission is currently in Islamabad to hold the second review of its $7 billion External Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of the $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) loan programs for the country.
Mehanti said the resolution of the Rs1.2 trillion circular debt issue and stability in the rupee also played a part in the bullish trend.
He added that expectations of Saudi foreign direct investment after the Pakistan-Saudi defense pact also contributed to the bullish momentum.
Pakistan and 海角直播 last week strengthened joint deterrence and decades of military cooperation by signing a 鈥淪trategic Mutual Defense Agreement,鈥� pledging that an attack on one would be considered an attack on both.
Sana Tawfiq, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited, said media reports indicated that the IMF was now looking at a major flood impact on the economy.
鈥淧lus, once the IMF review is successful, foreign reserves will be built following the IMF disbursement,鈥� she said.
鈥淥ur expectation is that the inflation will be low and remain in single digits below six percent,鈥� she continued. 鈥淚t is expected at 5.5-6 percent despite food inflation month-on-month uptick due to flood factor.鈥�
Pakistan, in its economic outlook released earlier today, warned that recent floods may drive food prices up in the coming weeks, though inflation is projected to remain under 4.5 percent this month.