In a tumultuous day of trading, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a significant drop of over 1,000 points on Wednesday, following the oath-taking of the new federal cabinet led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The benchmark KSE-100 index spiraled down to 64,694.27 during intraday trading, marking a substantial loss of 1,061.03 points or 1.61% from the previous close of 65,755.30.
Financial analyst Afreen Mirza linked this steep decline to the recent cabinet announcements, particularly the appointment of Muhammad Aurangzeb to the pivotal Q-block. Speculations have been rife that Aurangzeb might be entrusted with the finance ministry and the additional responsibility of the Revenue Division, signaling a possible shift in key portfolios.
“Investors are reacting to the news as rumours suggest that the government has assigned Aurangzeb the portfolio of the finance ministry, with the additional responsibility of the Revenue Division. This suggests that another minister will eventually take over this portfolio,” she explained.
Mirza also highlighted investors’ concerns regarding the upcoming talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) scheduled for this week as another factor contributing to the market’s downturn.
Just a day earlier, the market closed slightly lower after hitting a peak of over 66,100 points earlier in the session. The KSE-100 concluded with a decrease of 38.45 points or 0.06%, ending at 65,755.31 points.
Analyst Ahsan Mehanti from Arif Habib noted, “Stocks closed under pressure amid weak global equities and concerns for economic uncertainty.” He emphasized that uncertainties surrounding the upcoming monetary policy announcement on March 18 and the government’s negotiations for new IMF loans played a pivotal role in the negative market close.
Investors are now closely monitoring developments in the new cabinet and upcoming economic policies, as well as the outcomes of the imminent IMF talks, for further cues on the market’s trajectory.
