KARACHI
\nPakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) edged up following successful talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the last review of $3 billion stand-by arrangement (SBA), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 335.36 points (+0.52 percent) to close the week at 65,151.82 points.
\nDuring the week under review, PSX gained 74 points in a cautious trade on Monday, as investors braced for the upcoming monetary policy decision, which was due after the market\u2019s closure. Later in the day, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decided to maintain the interest rate at 22 percent. The PSX hailed the SBP\u2019s decision on Tuesday when the KSE-100 Index gained 612 points to close at 65,502.59 points.
\nThe talks with the IMF mission on the SBA\u2019s second review concluded on Tuesday with staff-level agreement, resulting in infused positivity into the equity market and international investors as well with appreciation in dollar bonds and Pakistan Stock Exchange benchmark index. Resultantly, the benchmark index gained 229.20 points to close at 65,731.79 points on Wednesday.
\nProfit-taking remained in limelight during the last two sessions of the week, as the benchmark index shed 314.39 points on Thursday and 265.58 points on Friday. The profit-taking was in line with expectations, as the market participants were expecting this after an agreement with the IMF.
\nThe current account recorded a surplus of $128 million in February 2024, compared to a deficit of $303 million in January. Additionally, the SBP\u2019s foreign exchange reserves climbed up $105 million.
\nOn the other hand, foreign direct investment in the country slowed down during the first eight months of the current fiscal year, which deterred some investors from building their positions. Foreign direct investment declined by 17% YoY in 8MFY24, reaching $821 million.
\nJS Global Capital Limited, a brokerage, in his report stated that the market experienced volatility throughout the week, with the initial three sessions concluding positively before profit-taking dominated the final two sessions. \u201cThe focal point during the week was the IMF\u2019s conclusive assessment of the $3 billion SBA, marked by the signing of a staff-level agreement,\u201d it said, adding that the newly elected government reaffirmed its commitment to meeting all the structural benchmarks and indicative targets set forth by the IMF.
\nAccording to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the large-scale manufacturing sector posted an increase of 1.8% year-on-year (YoY) in January 2024, making a positive growth for the second consecutive month. Furthermore, in Treasury bills\u2019 auction, cut-off yields jumped in the range of 20.9 to 21.7 basis points for papers of different maturities, the JS Global Capital Limited report added.
\nMeanwhile, Arif Habib Limited (AHL) in its report said that the market remained mixed in the beginning since investors adopted a careful stance as they awaited the monetary policy announcement. Following the announcement of unchanged policy rate and signing of a staff-level agreement with the IMF, the market sentiment revived. Foreign buying continued during the week under review, clocking in at $2 million compared to net buying of $2.7 million last week, AHL added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KARACHI Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) edged up following successful talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the last review of $3 billion stand-by arrangement (SBA), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 335.36 points (+0.52 percent) to close the week at 65,151.82 points. During the week under review, PSX gained 74 points in a cautious […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-396018","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n