PSX Sheds 880 Points Amid Concerns over IMF Conditions

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) faced another round of battering as the KSE-100 index shed some 880 points to close at 37517.93 points level at the end to trading on Friday, the last trading day of the week. Except for a brief period at the start of the trading, the market remained in the red zone throughout the day. The market battering was triggered by reports on risks over Pakistan Stock Exchange’s exclusion from MSCI emerging market on failing to meet MSCI EM free float rules in the MSCI EM annual review by Jun’19. ALSO READ Provinces Alarmed by IMF’s Proposal to Cut NFC Share Following a brief stay in the positive territory, the index continued its journey towards the south, falling below 37,550 points. The concerned investors found no respite except to offload the stocks. The selling pressure was witnessed in stocks across the board. At one point during the last session of the trading, the market lost some 992 points to dip to 374905 points. However, it managed to recover some of the losses and closed 880 points down. On Friday, some 92,216,630  shares changed hands at the market. ALSO READ Experts See Pak Rupee Depreciating Further by 5pc  Commenting on the bearish close of the market, senior analyst and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Habib Corp Ahsan Mehnati said stocks fell across the board on reports regarding risks over Pakistan Stocks exclusion from MSCI emerging market on failing to meet MSCI EM free float rules in the MSCI EM annual review by Jun’19. He added that the IMF condition for absolute transparency over Pakistan debts to review over IMF loans bailout package, dismal data on the trade deficit and weak corporate earnings outlook amid the surge in interest rates, rupee depreciation played a catalyst role in bearish close.