Bearish run continues amid pre-budget jitters

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday continued its bearish momentum owing to across-the-board pre-budget uncertainty and profit-booking at high valuations. In the morning, the market opened with a spike, touching its intra-day high of 73,079.18 points, but the positive sentiment started weakening soon as market participants were concerned ahead of the budget announcement. An unstable political situation in the country due to wheat and fertiliser supply challenges also dragged the KSE-100 index down. Reports about the International Monetary Fund (IMF) seeking an additional Rs1.3 trillion in taxes under a new loan programme dampened buying interest at the bourse, which touched its intra-day low of 72,358.19 after midday.