PSX 100-index plummets 1000 points

Another bloodbath at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as KSE-100 index plummeted by 1000 points and is being traded at 42677 points while on the other hand, Pakistani rupee showed resistance with an increase of value 28 paisas against the US dollar.

According to the PSX website, at the start of trading, the 100 Index was at 43,486.46 points, but soon saw a decrease of 806.95 points. The KSE-100 Index lost 2.44 points.

The decline comes as Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced yesterday that the government was not “currently” raising petrol prices, however, this was an important precondition set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the resumption of the loan program.

Miftah Ismail said he would talk to the IMF to find another solution.

He further said that Shahbaz Sharif was not in favor of imposing the burden of rising oil prices on the people.

“I have suggested to him to increase the price of petrol but they he is not in the favor to impose burden on people,” he said.

However, he emphasized that the price of petrol could be adjusted at any time in the future in view of international prices.

Arif Habib, chairman of the group, said that the government would have to make a difficult decision to stabilize the market for a short period of time.

He said there was a need to pave the way for immediate resumption of IMF program by removing subsidies on petroleum products, otherwise the process of restoring investor confidence would be difficult.

Arif Habib said that the stock market is performing well even in these conditions.

However, he added that the recent downturn was due to the restoration of investors’ confidence and the reason for the delay in government decisions on economic issues.

Ali Malik, CEO of First National Equities, meanwhile, stressed that financial institutions should cooperate with the stock market.

He said that the monitoring policy to be presented on May 23 would be important for the market. According to reports, the interest rate in monetary policy is likely to increase by up to 2%.