Stocks rally as govt moves to resume talks with IMF

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) welcomed 2023 with a rally in share prices on Monday. Topline Securities said the KSE-100 index mostly stayed in the green zone, thanks to the expectations about a breakthrough on the circular debt front. The government is reportedly considering rationalising the gas tariff to meet the pre-conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the resumption of dialogue for unlocking the loan’s next tranche. Arif Habib Ltd also said investors were active during the trading session because of the positive news flow on the ninth review of the IMF loan programme. The exploration and production sector remained in the limelight as news reports hinted at an early resolution of the liquidity crisis. As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 40,815.90 points, up 395.45 points or 0.98 per cent from the preceding session. The overall trading volume decreased 14.9pc to 242.2 million shares. The traded value went down 8.6pc to $32.1m on a day-on-day basis. Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (14.9m shares), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (12.7m shares), Hascol Petroleum Ltd (12.2m shares), Cnergyico PK Ltd (10.3m shares) and WorldCall Telecom Ltd (9.3m shares).