ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Market on Friday bounced back strongly and gained more than 3,000 points, stock analysts said, a day after it witnessed a “massacre” on the back of significant redemptions from local mutual funds and year-end profit-taking.
The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 3238.17 points to close the weekend trading session at 109,513.14 points. On Thursday, the index plummeted by 5,132 points, or 4.32 percent, to close at 106,274.97 points, compared to Wednesday’s close of 111,070.29 points.
Stock analysts attributed the strong recovery to easing pressure at local mutual funds.
“Likely easing redemption pressure at local mutual funds together with the opening up of attractive valuations encouraged value buyers to reenter the market,” Raza Jafri, head of equities at Intermarket Securities, told Arab News.
Thursday’s slump was led by Hub Power Company Limited, United Bank Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company, and ENGRO, cumulatively contributing a staggering 1,556 points to the index’s overall decline, according to Topline Securities.
The sharp sell-off was triggered by significant redemptions from local mutual funds, compounded by year-end profit-taking by institutions, that dragged the market into a “turmoil,” it added.
The decline came days after Pakistan’s central bank cut its key interest rate by 200 basis points to 13 percent, marking the fifth straight reduction since June.
Yousuf M. Farooq, head of research at Chase Securities, said the market had entered a corrective phase, following a significant rally over the past year.
“We believe that earnings will now drive market performance rather than valuation rerating,” he added.
Pakistan stocks bounce back strongly a day after ‘massacre’ at bourse
https://arab.news/mssm5
Pakistan stocks bounce back strongly a day after ‘massacre’ at bourse
- The KSE-100 index gained 3238 points to close the weekend trading session at 109,513 points
- Stock analysts attribute strong recovery of the market to easing pressure at local mutual funds
Bodies of Pakistani nationals who died attempting illegal migration repatriated from Iran
- Pakistan’s envoy in Tehran warns youth against human smugglers after deaths in harsh weather
- Pakistan reported sharp fall in illegal migration to Europe this year amid nationwide crackdown
ISLAMABAD: The bodies of two Pakistani nationals, who died near the Iran-Türkiye border after attempting to travel illegally to Europe, have been repatriated to the country, said a senior diplomat on Tuesday, reiterating warnings against human smugglers amid an intensified crackdown by authorities in Islamabad on illegal migration.
Pakistan says it has stepped up action against illegal immigration and human trafficking in recent years, reporting a 47% drop in illegal migration to Europe this year and the arrest of more than 1,700 suspected human smugglers, according to official figures.
However, people continue to attempt dangerous irregular journeys in search of work and better economic opportunities abroad.
“The mortal remains of Pakistani nationals Mr. Armanullah s/o Gul Rahman and Mr. Ihtasham s/o Mukhtar Gul, both residents of Nowshera, have been repatriated to Pakistan through Taftan border earlier today,” Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, said in a post on social media platform X. “Both had fallen victim to the greed of human smugglers and lost their lives in extremely harsh weather conditions near Iran’s border with Turkiye.”
“I once again request the youth back home not to be trapped by human smugglers and instead follow the legal path to travel abroad,” he added, thanking the government of the Balochistan province in Pakistan for arranging the transportation of the bodies and offering condolences to the victims’ families.
The issue illegal immigration has drawn heightened scrutiny since 2023, when hundreds of people, including Pakistani nationals, died attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea in an overcrowded vessel that sank off the Greek coast, prompting Islamabad to launch nationwide investigations into human smuggling and trafficking networks.
Authorities have since arrested Pakistani and foreign nationals at airports with forged travel documents, highlighting the scale of document fraud linked to illegal departures.
In September, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) released a list of more than 100 of Pakistan’s “most wanted” human smugglers and identified major trafficking hubs across Punjab province and the capital, Islamabad.
Earlier this month, Pakistan announced plans to roll out an artificial intelligence-based immigration screening system at Islamabad airport from January, aimed at detecting forged documents and preventing illegal travel abroad, as part of broader efforts to curb human smuggling and unauthorized migration.
