Shares recover on hopes of IMF programme revival

Shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) recovered on Tuesday as an International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation arrived in Pakistan to discuss the revival of the stalled loan programme. The benchmark KSE-100 index jumped 801.79 points, or 2.01 per cent, to close at 40,673.06 points. It reached an intraday high of 845.99 points, or 2.12pc, around 3:04pm. Arif Habib Corporation Director Ahsan Mehanti said share prices soared on hopes that the stalled IMF programme — which Pakistan needs to stave off default — would be revived after the delegation’s arrival in the country. The prospects of reviving the programme had brightened after the government removed an unofficial cap on the USD-PKR exchange rate and allowed the local currency to devaluate along with raising petroleum prices, he added. Mehanti expected that the bourse would sustain the recovery. First National Equities Limited Director Amir Shehzad also shared the same view. Dalal Securities CEO Siddique Dalal noted that the index tumbled yesterday after the blast in Peshawar’s Police Lines area, in which more than 80 people were killed, and the UAE president’s visit was postponed.