KSE-100 gains 452 points on expected IMF deal this week

Share prices rose on Monday with the benchmark KSE-100 index gaining 452.03 points, or 1.08 per cent, to reach 42,246.69 points at 10:38am. Intermarket Securities’ Head of Equity Raza Jafri attributed the gains to market expectations that the government would clinch a desperately needed staff-level agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week. “The reported extension in Saudi Arabia’s deferred oil facility by a year is also being looked upon favourably,” he added. Aba Ali Habib Securities’ Head of Research Salman Naqvi also shared the view, saying the primary reason for the KSE-100’s rise was the expectation of the SLA being signed soon. Besides this, there were reports that the international money lender had given the government till June to privatise state-owned corporations 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.