The stock market surged at the start of Wednesday’s session, breaking a two-day losing streak, driven by an upward correction.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened on a positive note, recovering after two consecutive days of losses, fueled by a correction in the market.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index of the PSX gained 1,697.54 points, or 1.46%, reaching an intraday high of 117,750.22 points.
Ahfaz Mustafa, CEO of Ismail Iqbal Securities, told Geo.tv, “The initial bounce can be attributed to an upward correction following yesterday’s 2,500-point drop and a recovery in energy stocks.”
Market optimism was also bolstered by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s expected visit to the bourse, as he is in Karachi for a day. The Prime Minister is set to award PSX the title of the world’s second-best-performing stock exchange in 2024.
Additionally, during a cabinet meeting a day earlier, the Premier announced the rollover of a $2 billion loan deposit from the United Arab Emirates, providing fiscal relief to the government.
Samiullah Tariq, Head of Research at Pak-Kuwait Investment Company, commented, “The market is rebounding after a decline over the past two sessions, and the PM’s visit to the stock exchange is also a positive factor.”
Another contributor to the market’s rise is the government’s plan to rightsize 42 ministries and 400 attached departments by June 30, 2025, aimed at reducing expenditures and improving efficiency.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, in a press conference on Tuesday, announced, “We have decided to rightsize five or six departments in each phase.”
He also shared that 60% of vacant regular posts, totaling 150,000, have been abolished or classified as “dying posts,” leading to tangible financial savings.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported that the government’s total debt increased by Rs1.452 trillion, or 2.1%, in the first five months of FY25, reaching Rs70.366 trillion as of November 2024. This increase is attributed to high government spending and the need for external debt repayment.
The KSE-100 Index closed Tuesday’s session at 116,052.68, marking a decline of 202.44 points, or 0.17%, from the previous session’s close of 116,255.12.
