ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) began the week on a strong note and gained more than 4,000 points on Monday, stock analysts said, attributing the rally to “easing political noise” and upbeat economic indicators.
The benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 4,411 points, or 4.3 percent, to close at 113,924 points on Monday, according to stock traders. The market saw the trading of 424,809,788 shares and registered the second highest single-day gain from Friday’s close of 109,513 points.
Stock analysts said upbeat economic indicators on surging exports, remittances and foreign exchange reserves as well as the government’s talks with the opposition Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party played a catalyst role in the rally.
“Stocks’ bullish record led by scrips across the board as investor weigh falling lending rates after fall in government bond yield and easing political noise,” Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive officer of Arif Habib Commodities, told Arab News.
Mehanti’s comments came hours after the Pakistani government held a first round of talks with jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s PTI party to address political polarization in the country.
Pakistan has remained gripped by political unrest and uncertainty since Khan’s ouster from power through a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022, which has also exacerbated Pakistan’s economic hardships.
However, Pakistan’s economic indicators have improved and the stock market has surged significantly, reaching a historic high of 117,039 points this month. Though the market shed around 9,000 points last week, but it recovered on Friday by registering a sharp increase of more than 3,000 points.
Pakistan’s central bank this month cut its key interest rate by 200 basis points to 13 percent, marking the fifth straight reduction since June. The country’s annual consumer inflation also slowed to 4.9 percent in November, lower than the government’s forecast and the lowest in nearly six years. This was down from 38 percent last year.
Data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics also supports positive investor sentiment as the trade deficit narrowed by 7.39 percent during the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year, standing at $8.651 billion, compared to $9.341 billion during the same period last year.
Exports rose by 12.57 percent to hit $13.69 billion, while imports increased by 3.90 percent to $22.342 billion during this period. November’s trade deficit narrowed even further, dropping by 18.60 percent year-on-year to $1.589 billion compared to $1.952 billion in November 2023.
Pakistan recorded an increase of 29.1 percent year on year in workers remittances, which amounted to $2.9 billion in November, according to the central bank data. The inflows rose by 33.6 percent to $14.8 billion from July till November, compared to $11.1 billion received during the same period last year.
Pakistan stock market registers second highest single-day gain on ‘easing political noise’
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Pakistan stock market registers second highest single-day gain on ‘easing political noise’
- The benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 4,411 points, or 4.3 percent, to close at 113,924 points on Monday, according to stock traders
- The development came as Pakistan’s government holds talks with ex-PM Imran Khan’s PTI opposition party to address political polarization
Azad Kashmir President Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry dies at 71
- Pakistan prime minister praises Chaudhry’s advocacy for the Kashmir cause
- AJK Presidential Office says he died in Islamabad after a prolonged illness
ISLAMABAD: Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry, the president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and a veteran Kashmiri politician, died in Islamabad on Saturday after a prolonged illness, according to an official statement from the AJK Presidential Office. He was 71.
His funeral prayers will be held on Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium, the statement said.
Chaudhry, who served multiple times as prime minister and opposition leader in AJK before becoming president in 2021, was one of the region’s most prominent political figures and a long-time advocate of the Kashmir cause at international forums.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow over Chaudhry’s death in a statement.
“Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry was a farsighted political leader who spent his entire life in the service of the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” Sharif said in a statement issued by his office.
Born on August 9, 1955, in Chichian, Mirpur, Chaudhry received his early education in his native village, completed his matriculation from Cantonment Public School Rawalpindi and graduated from Gordon College Rawalpindi before traveling to Britain, where he earned a law degree from Lincoln’s Inn. He returned to Pakistan in 1983 and entered active politics.
Over his political career, Chaudhry was elected nine times from his Mirpur constituency and held several senior positions, including prime minister of AJK in 1996 and opposition leader in the legislative assembly in 2001. He also led multiple political parties in AJK, including the Muslim Conference, the Peoples Party AJK chapter and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf AJK chapter.
The AJK Presidential Office said Chaudhry played a central role in raising the Kashmir issue globally, addressing international institutions, foreign governments and parliaments, and leading protests and demonstrations in cities including London, New York, Brussels and Berlin. It said he was the only AJK leader to have been permitted to visit Indian-administered Kashmir, where he addressed a public gathering at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk and met senior Kashmiri leaders.
Sharif said Chaudhry “raised a strong voice against Indian oppression of the Kashmiri people and in support of the Kashmir cause.”
“His service to the Kashmiri people and his struggle for the Kashmir cause will always be remembered in history,” he added.
