ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) recorded a significant turned around at the start of the week amid circulations of news related to a possible friendly budget for investors, which would be presented on June 9.
On Monday, the 100-index remained in the green zone and gain 375.5 points to close at 41,340. At the start of the trading, the market observed smooth activities, and at the middle of the day, the 100-index even gained more than 450 points with a positive change of 1.16 percent.
Investors were relaxed about remaining in the green zone as they were expecting an investor-friendly budget, especially measures related to tax on reserves that would help to force listed companies to pay more to their shareholders and clients.
During the day, investors took an interest in buying in different sectors, including cement, automobile, chemical, oil and gas exploration companies, and other top rated entities. Meanwhile, sectors related to fertilizer, technology, and communication were also managed to place in the green zone.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader among the top three leading entities with 193.9 million shares, and Maple Leaf Cement settled as runners-up with 10.9 million shares, followed by K-Electric with 8.9 million shares.
In total, 348 companies traded their shares, 204 registered gains while 128 sustained a fall, and 16 remained unchanged.
Bullish Trend at PSX
Apart from expectations from the budget, investors also opted to be in the green zone due to news pertaining to inflows from multilateral and bilateral lenders. A couple of days before, World Bank approved funds for the flood affectees in Balochistan. Some good news are also expected from Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, while talking to a private television channel on Sunday, said that the government would share details of its upcoming budget with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unlock stalled funds. Pakistan is waiting to receive $1.1 billion tranche from the IMF as part of the 9th review, pending since last November.
