Share prices rose on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index up 452.03 points, or 1.08 percent, to reach 42,246.69 points at 10:38 am.
Intermarket Securities head of equities Raza Jafri attributed the gains to market expectations that the government would strike a desperately needed Staff Level Agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week.
“The reported extension of Saudi Arabia’s deferred oil facility by one year is also viewed positively,” he added.
Aba Ali Habib Securities head of research Salman Naqvi also shared the view and said the primary reason for the KSE-100’s rise was the expectation that the SLA would be signed soon.
Besides this, there were reports that the international money lender had given the government until June to privatize state-owned companies and resolve the circular debt in the gas sector, he said. As a result, share prices of state-run companies such as Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL), which are index heavyweights, rose, Naqvi added.
The analyst noted that earnings season was also underway. “The exploration and production sector performed well; the cement sector posted record quarterly profits and the steel sector also performed well as a result; and the technology sector performed exceptionally well.
“These are the main reasons for the bull run,” he said.
Pakistan has apparently been on the verge of signing the long-awaited staff-level agreement with the IMF for several weeks now, but this week the finance minister may “close the deal”, finance ministry sources said earlier. Dawn.
Last week, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the government would sign the deal in a few days.
A finance ministry official said the agreement could not be signed over the weekend due to delays in compliance with certain measures by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
A deal would release $1.1 billion, which is part of a $6.5 billion bailout the IMF approved in 2019, which analysts say is critical if Pakistan is to avoid defaulting on external debt obligations.
SBP’s foreign exchange reserves, after falling below 3 billion $, has now reached 4.3 billion. dollars after an influx of around 1.5 billion dollar during the last week and a half.