PSX remains range bound amid mixed signals

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) traded in a narrow band in the outgoing week as investors were worried about the budget measures being debated in the National Assembly, which drove the KSE-100 index down by over 350 points. It came despite optimism over the impending approval of a new and larger International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme. It was an eventful week that marked the closure of fiscal year 2023-24 for the market, which provided the highest annual return in 21 years. Other key events during the week were the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) announcement of a $270 million current account deficit for May 2024 and favourable results in the T-bills’ auction, which hinted at a potential rate cut in the next monetary policy announcement.