KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged on Thursday over reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will grant $1.4 billion in budgetary support against the coronavirus pandemic.
The IMF plans to provide the grant next week to books the country’s foreign exchange reserves and some support in the wake of the economic slowdown due to the pandemic. The government has requested the global financial institution to consider giving a “low-cost, fast disbursing loan” under the Financing Instrument (RFI) to deal with the adverse economic impact of COVID-19.
The news boost investor confidence triggering the benchmark KSE 100 index to register a gain of 866.03 points, an increase of 2.8 percent and close at 31,837.30 points. The indices slighted crossed the 32,000 level but slipped before trading was suspended. The total volume of scripts was 172.682 million valued at Rs7.962 billion.
The lower bench KSE 30 index also witnessed an increase of 428.28 points (3.12%) and closed at 14,146.20 points. The total volume of scripts was 88.613 million. The shares prices of top active stocks increased notably MLCF (4.15%), Hascol (3.61%), Unity (0.28%), KEL (2.49%), PIOC (5.49%), FCCL (1.92%) followed by BOP (2.82%), KOHC (1.77%) and OGDC (3.30%).
The stock market has been seeking to regain control after weeks of rout due to the coronavirus pandemic. Yesterday, the bourse shed 260.28 points over concerns that global crude prices have bottomed and there was a spike in coronavirus cases in the country and across the world.Q
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