Total traded volume hit 238.4m shares, while the value of shares traded clocked in at a massive Rs22bn
\n Islamabad
\nStocks staged a powerful comeback on Friday, fueled by rising optimism ahead of the IMF Executive Board meeting, with investors betting on a smooth green light for Pakistan\u2019s loan programme.
\nInvestors appeared to regain some confidence after early trade passed without fresh incidents that could rattle sentiment.
\nPakistan Stock Exchange\u2019s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 3.52%, or 3,648 points, to settle at 107,174.63.
\nThe index hit an intraday high of 107,541.45 and a low of 102,420.82, reflecting strong bullish sentiment throughout the session.
\nTotal traded volume stood at 238.4 million shares, while the value of shares traded clocked in at Rs22 billion.
\n\u201cAfter falling sharply by 6% yesterday due to drone attacks, stocks recovered 2% in the first 30 minutes of trading on Friday,\u201d said Topline Securities CEO Mohammad Sohail.
\n\u201cSo far, there has been no news of any major escalation helping in restoring confidence,\u201d he added.
\nThe brokerage in a post-market note said that this recovery was on account of optimism on the IMF Executive Board meeting scheduled to consider the loan programme, where the market was mostly expecting a smooth approval.
\n\u201cOverall decline in cross-border hostilities also provided stimulus to investor sentiment,\u201d the report added.
\nInvestor focus is firmly fixed on the IMF Executive Board meeting taking place today, where a $1.3 billion disbursement under Pakistan\u2019s ongoing 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) is up for approval.
\nThe Board will also consider Islamabad\u2019s request to modify performance criteria and to access funds under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The IMF and the Government of Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement in March during the first review of the $7 billion programme.
\nIf approved, the upcoming tranche would bring total disbursements to approximately $2 billion.
\nFriday\u2019s movements come a day after the PSX suffered its worst single-day decline in history, as the KSE-100 Index plunged by 6,482.21 points, or 5.89%, to close at 103,526.81 on Thursday.
\nThe market\u2019s circuit breaker was activated after the KSE-30 Index fell more than 5% in five consecutive minutes, leading to a one-hour trading halt.
\nDuring Thursday\u2019s session, the KSE-100 had reached a high of 111,881.03 and fell as low as 101,598.91 points.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Total traded volume hit 238.4m shares, while the value of shares traded clocked in at a massive Rs22bn Islamabad Stocks staged a powerful comeback on Friday, fueled by rising optimism ahead of the IMF Executive Board meeting, with investors betting on a smooth green light for Pakistan\u2019s loan programme. Investors appeared to regain some confidence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466983,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-477423","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n