PSX rebounds ahead of budget announcement

Some pre-budget optimism emerged at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday as the KSE-100 index rebounded following two consecutive sessions of significant declines. The upturn followed Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s assurance to the nation of efforts to stabilise the economy ahead of the federal budget presentation. Earlier, the trading session began with a spike but soon investors adopted a wait-and-see approach, keeping a close watch on developments surrounding the budget announcement. Investor sentiment turned positive as the finance minister revealed while unveiling the Economic Survey 2023-24 on Tuesday that there were constructive talks with the IMF for a new loan programme. Additionally, the Rs18.877 trillion budget for fiscal year 2024-25, potential China debt restructuring, reduction in Karachi Inter-bank Offered Rate (Kibor) and moves to tackle capital market speculation aided the market’s rise, which reached the intra-day high at 73,169. However, investors faced some pressure due to economic uncertainty, resulting in a slight drop in the index, which closed below the 73,000 mark.