Bulls extend rally, fuelled by IMF deal

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday extended its bull-run for the third successive day as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Islamabad reached a staff-level agreement following the final review under a $3 billion standby arrangement. Earlier, trading kicked off with optimism that the staff-level agreement would pave the way for the release of last loan tranche of $1.1 billion in March or April. Pakistan’s economic and financial positions have improved, said the IMF staff in a statement, which encouraged bulls to build their positions, taking the KSE-100 index to the intra-day high of 65,968.02. Additionally, Pakistan’s current account surplus reached an impressive $128 million in February, which reduced pressure on the country’s external account and also aided the momentum at the bourse. According to State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) data, the current account balance was in deficit at $303 million in the prior month of January while the deficit stood at $50 million a year ago in February 2023.