Pakistan: KSE-100 plummets by more than 1,500 points in intraday trading

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) started on Monday on a gloomy note after KSE-100 took a fall of 1,543 points in intraday trading.

The KSE-100 Index is a stock index acting as a benchmark to compare prices on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) over a period.

According to Pakistan media, the dollar rate rose to Rs187.80 against the Pakistani rupee during intraday trading

The KSE-100 index opened at 44,840.81 points and shed 1,543 points or 3.44 per cent during the intraday trade. The PSX was at 43,297.79 points around 01:59 pm, Geo News reported.

Raza Jafri, head of Equities at Intermarket Securities, said the market was under pressure because of the depletion of foreign reserves and delay in the resumption of the International Monetary Funds programme (IMF) among other factors.

"The government has seemingly, so far, drawn a blank when it comes to securing funds from friendly countries. The pressure in global equity markets is also hurting sentiment," he was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper.

Khurram Shehzad, CEO of Alpha Beta Core, said, "No development on funding from Saudi Arabia, UAE and the IMF has worried investors."

Malik Bostan, chairman of the Forex Association of Pakistan, expressed hope that the Pakistani rupee will recover by the last week of May. He attributed today's hike in dollar price to payments made for imported oil.

He also advised Pakistan Finance Ministry to immediately publicise details of the package Pakistan has received from Saudi Arabia.

( With inputs from ANI )