KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that braved a terrorist attack on Monday remained bullish after yesterday’s incident, showing no signs of fear and panic as traders and investors said their resolve had further deepened to play a constructive role in strengthening their country’s economy.
The benchmark KSE100 index on Tuesday surged by 240.12 points to close the last trading session of current fiscal year at 34,422.
On Monday, four terrorists, who were purportedly trained and recruited by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), attacked the country’s iconic stock exchange building, though their attempt to enter the trading hall for hostage taking was foiled by the police and security guards within minutes of the attack that left eight people, including the attackers, dead.
Governor Sindh Imran Ismail, who visited the stock exchange on Tuesday, blamed the country’s nuclear-armed neighbor, India, for the attack.
“Yesterday’s incident was a well thought out plan of Indian [spy] agencies and was carried out with their full funding and involvement,” he told the media after the visit.
“The response of Pakistan’s security forces was nothing short of a slap in the face for India. It was also a clear signal to all terrorists who should understand they can’t mess with our country,” he added.
Pakistani officials believe that the attack was launched to undermine the country’s economy by targeting the symbol of its wealth and business activities to shatter investor confidence.
Other observers maintain the militant act could not yield its desired results.
“Fortunately, foreign investors understand that such isolated attacks take nothing away from Pakistan as an investment destination, including several world class companies listed on PSX, with some of the most attractive valuations in the world. Incidentally, they went up the day of the attack,” Richard Morin, PSX’s former CEO, said in a LinkedIn post.
Analysts say the market gained around two percent – or 480 points – during the two trading sessions since the attack on Monday morning.
“Visits of government functionaries further boosted the confidence at the bourse. In fact, the foiled bid increased the market’s benchmark KSE100 index to about 500 points,” Ahsan Mehanti, senior analysts and Chief Executive of Arif Habib Corporation, told Arab News.
“There are no signs of fear among investors and traders. The market sentiment is positive and it is supported by the impacts of interest rate cut, oil price surge and foreign inflows,” Abdul Azeem, Head of Research at Spectrum Securities, told Arab News.
Pakistan’s central bank on Tuesday announced it had received foreign inflows of $3 billion since June 23 from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Economist say the inflows will help Pakistan meet year-end targets and maintain buffer stocks of reserves for any emergency needs.
“The dollar reserve will help Pakistan meet the June-end targets of the International Monetary Fund, particularly those related to net international reserves. The State Bank of Pakistan is not selling US dollar in open market to strengthen the rupee but keeping a buffer to deal with any situation that may trigger uncertainty,” Muzzamil Aslam, senior economist, told Arab News.
The Pakistani rupee on Tuesday closed higher at Rs 168.05 against the US dollar owing to the higher demand of greenback for year-end payments and settlements.
