PSX trends lower on weaker rupee, high debt

KARACHI: After a positive start on Wednesday, the stock market came under selling pressure as a weaker rupee and surging external debts amid uncertainty about new IMF conditions kept investors nervous as a result the benchmark KSE 100-share index closed in the red. Cautious investors opted to stay on the sidelines as the new government was preparing to start the final IMF review under the $3bn Stand-By Arrangement, expiring next month, for the release of the remaining $1.1bn and negotiating a fresh bailout. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation the uncertainty over IMF’s new terms for a long-term Extended Fund Facility to bridge the $6bn debt servicing gap for the current fiscal year worried investors.