EA Report
Lahore, Oct. 11 — Benchmark KSE-100 Index couldn’t sustain pressure of escalating commodity prices on opening week amid uncertainty over talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
High commodity prices keep on threaten the country’s growth that pushed the market down to levels last seen in March.
Lacklustre volumes and selling was seen across the board with cement, technology and refinery sectors enduring heavy losses.
KSE-100 had retreated close to 1.7% at 1:45pm, a fall of over 700 points, and was hovering around the 43,700-800 level.
Pakistan’s stocks have been under pressure for a few months now with high commodity prices, rupee depreciation, and inflation readings taking their toll on investor sentiment.
“Talks with the IMF on Extended Fund Facility are shadowing some uncertainty,” Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited, told.
“There should be clarity on it soon. The market is expected to bounce back.”
On the IMF front, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin is scheduled to leave for Washington DC on October 12 to attend the annual meeting of the World Bank and IMF scheduled from 11 to 17 October 2021. It is not clear whether Tarin will hold policy level talks after or on the sidelines of the annual meeting.
IMF talks on power sector reform pace remain inconclusive
However, talks at the technical level between Pakistani authorities and the IMF reportedly remained inconclusive on the pace of power sector reforms with the latter reportedly expressing concern over non-implementation of the tariff agreed during the second to fifth review talks held in February 2021.
Pakistan Rupee Exchange Rate