Stocks tumble on IMF, political uncertainty
Despite initially beginning the week with a bullish tone, the equities came under late selling pressure on Monday, forcing the KSE 100 index to close in the red amid IMF uncertainty and mounting political tensions. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said stocks closed lower amid a slump in global equities and concerns about political noise. He said uncertainty over IMF approvals on the Rs2.8tr funding plan to resolve circular debt crises and expectations over cautious State Bank of Pakistan policy to cut key interest rate at the Monetary Policy Committee’s Sept 12 meeting also contributed to the bearish close. Topline Securities Ltd said the decline was primarily attributed to Millat Tractors, Hub Power, United Bank, Habib Bank and Meezan Bank, which accounted for a 354 points drop. The shares registering the most significant increases in their prices in absolute terms were Haleon Pakistan (Rs41.13), Service Industries (Rs29.37), Hallmark Company (Rs24.31), Mari Petroleum (Rs16.85) and Shifa International (Rs12.12).