Profit-taking drives bourse down

Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday came under significant selling pressure, triggered by pre-budget uncertainty and the terms of a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan package such as tax reforms, tariff hikes and rupee devaluation. In the morning, the KSE-100 index got off to a robust start, reaching its intra-day high of 76,209.96 points. However, the market quickly reversed course owing to the weakening Pakistani rupee and declining foreign currency reserves. Additionally, concerns over the unpaid dues of Chinese independent power producers (IPPs) exacerbated the bearish sentiment. Consequently, the index fell below the 76,000 mark, erasing all prior gains and touching its intra-day low of 75,495.38 points. The downturn was also driven by poor performance in the IT, banking and fertiliser sectors. The market closed near the day’s low with notable losses.