PSX tumbles on dismal data, economic gloom

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday registered a sharp decline of nearly 580 points, driven by dismal economic data showing a $270 million current account deficit for May 2024 and tough tax measures against exporters in the federal budget for FY25. Earlier, trading began on a positive note, with the KSE-100 index reaching the intra-day high of 79,388.11 points. However, the early momentum quickly evaporated as the market plummeted. The downturn was primarily fueled by the unresolved issues such as the Rs5.3 trillion worth of circular debt and the outstanding dues of billions of rupees payable to the Chinese independent power producers (IPPs).