ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday breached the 94,000-point mark but retreated by more than 370 points to still close at a record high, with analysts attributing the bullish trend to rupee’s stability and the government’s move to slash the policy rate.
The KSE-100 index rose to a record 94,020 points, a level never seen before in PSX history, during the intraday trading, but closed at 93,648 points. The index was still up by more than 350 points from the previous day’s close of 93,291 points.
The Pakistani stock market has been experiencing a bullish trend since last week which was evident when it breached the 93,000-point barrier for the first time on Friday.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation told Arab News the bullish trend was led by blue chip companies after American finance company, MSCI, revised Pakistan’s expected standard index weight for November to 4.4 percent. The MSCI, in its latest review this month, announced the addition of eight Pakistani companies to its Frontier Market Small Cap Index.
“Rupee stability and falling bank lending rates following a slump in government bond yields played a catalyst role in bullish activity at PSX,” Mehanti told Arab News via text.
The bullish trend has been observed in the stock market since last Monday when Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 250 basis points, bringing it to 15 percent. This was the fourth straight reduction since June, as the country keeps up efforts to revive a sluggish economy with inflation easing.
Pakistan continues to enjoy record gains in the stock market as its economic indicators continue to improve after Islamabad secured a 37-month, $7 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September.
Last year, Pakistan narrowly avoided a sovereign default when it clinched a last-gasp $3 billion IMF bailout deal. The country has suffered a prolonged economic crisis that drained its foreign exchange reserves and saw its currency weaken amid double-digit inflation.
Pakistan Stock Exchange retreats from 94,000 points to close at record high
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Pakistan Stock Exchange retreats from 94,000 points to close at record high
- Rupee stability, falling bank lending rates played catalyst role in the market’s bullish activity, analyst says
- Pakistan Stock Exchange has witnessed bullish trend since last Monday when government slashed policy rate
Pakistan seeks UK action over ‘incitement to violence’ against top military commander
- Move follows a video that purportedly showed a PTI supporter in Bradford referencing violence against the army chief
- Pakistan’s deputy interior minister says the government has written to the UK, saying the content breaches British law
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s State Minister for Interior Tallal Chaudhry said on Friday the government has written a letter to the United Kingdom to express concern over social media content circulating from British territory, which he said amounts to incitement to violence against the Pakistani state.
Speaking to a local news channel, Chaudhry said the government raised the issue after a video clip on social media purportedly showed a protester of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party criticizing Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and referring to violence against him.
“This is not a political matter, nor is it a question of freedom of expression,” the minister said while speaking to Geo TV. “This is clearly a violation of international law and of Britain’s own laws, including the British Terrorism Act 2006.”
He said the material went beyond political dissent and amounted to incitement to violence, adding that Pakistan had conveyed to British authorities that states are responsible for ensuring that individuals residing on their territory — whether citizens, asylum seekers or others — do not incite rebellion or violence against another sovereign country.
“What is very dangerous is that a very specific act — a car bombing — has been referenced,” he continued. “It has not been generalized.”
A social media post by a Britain-based journalist claimed that the video was recorded during a protest outside Pakistan’s consulate in Bradford, though neither the authenticity of the footage nor the identity of the individual could be independently verified.
Chaudhry said Pakistan’s complaint to the UK was lodged under international law, British law and United Nations principles governing relations between states, stressing that the issue was one of incitement rather than protected speech.
“This is not about freedom of expression. This is about incitement and terrorism, which is against Britain’s own laws,” he said, adding that Islamabad expects British authorities to take action.
Pakistani officials have also previously voiced concerns over social media activity by PTI supporters abroad that they say fuels unrest and hostility toward state institutions.
British authorities have not publicly responded to the letter or Chaudhry’s statement.
PTI has not reacted to either of them as well.
