PSX slips amid economic headwinds

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday faced pressure from economic headwinds and lost over 200 points as dismal data indicating a significant 19% year-on-year (YoY) decline in cement sales and an 8% decrease in oil consumption left investors worried about the future course of the economy. In the morning, the trading session commenced on a strong note, building upon the gains recorded in the prior session. Maintaining the momentum, the KSE-100 index breached the 66,000-point mark and reached its intra-day high at 66,134.84 before midday. However, the optimism proved short-lived as speculation surrounding the new conditions to be imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pertaining to economic reforms and bridging the tax gap undermined investors’ interest. Oil and gas companies mainly contributed to the market’s decline. The index erased all prior gains, plunging to the intra-day low at 65,500.06.