ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) bounced back strongly on Friday as investor confidence returned amid calls from the United States and the United Nations for de-escalation of India-Pakistan tensions over Kashmir, traders and analysts said, with the market gaining more than 2,500 points during the intraday trade.
Relations between the neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Kashmir that killed 26 tourists on April 22. Islamabad denies the accusation.
The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 2,787.36 points, or 2.5 percent and closed at 114,113.93 on Friday, compared to the previous day’s close of 111,326.57 points.
Stock analysts attributed the bullish sentiment to calls from the UN, US and other countries to de-escalate tensions between the two countries and offers to mediate the crisis.
“Stocks showed sharp recovery after the US and the UN urged Pakistan and India to defuse tensions,” Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Group, told Arab News.
“Reports of 0.3 percent year-on-year Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for April 25 likely to further ease SBP [State Bank of Pakistan] policy and expected receipt of IMF tranche [of $1 billion] this month played catalyst role in record bullish activity at PSX.”
Pakistan is currently navigating an economic recovery program under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
But tensions with India over Kashmir saw the Pakistani stock market shedding over 3,500 points on Wednesday. The US State Department said it was in contact with India and Pakistan, while State Secretary Marco Rubio on Wednesday held telephonic conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in a bid to ease tensions.
The UN has urged the arch-rivals to talk, while China, which shares its border with both India and Pakistan, this week repeated its call on both sides to “exercise restraint.”
Saudi Arabia has said Riyadh is trying to “prevent an escalation,” while Iran has offered to mediate the crisis.
“The developments over the weekend are likely to be closely watched and will dictate whether today’s bounce spills over into next week also,” Raza Jafri, head of research at Intermarket Securities, told Arab News.
Pakistan stocks rebound as investor confidence steadies amid calls to ease India tensions
https://arab.news/brse5
Pakistan stocks rebound as investor confidence steadies amid calls to ease India tensions
- Tensions with India flared after New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing the April 22 Kashmir attack that killed 26
- Analysts say weekend diplomacy and regional signals will determine if Friday’s market gains hold next week
Pakistan to take on India in Super Six fixture of Men’s U19 World Cup — PCB
- Pakistan need to defeat India by a healthy margin to secure a spot in semifinals
- England sit at the top of the table with six points in the mega cricket tournament
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan are all geared up to take on India in their final Super Six fixture of the ICC Under-19 (U19) Men’s Cricket World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said late Friday.
Pakistan will face arch-rivals India at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Sunday, February 1, with the first ball scheduled to be bowled at 9.30am local time.
The last time two sides met was during the ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup final, where Pakistan defeated India by 191 runs to clinch the title at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai. Sameer Minhas scored 172 runs while right-arm pacer Ali Raza bagged four wickets.
Pakistan, who currently have four points and are placed third in Group 2 of the Super Six stage, need to defeat India by a healthy margin to secure a spot in the semifinals. England sit at the top of the table with six points and are currently playing New Zealand at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
“Our next match is against India, which is very important as there is a semifinal at stake. We have clear plans for every match and we put in a lot of hard work accordingly,” said Usman Khan, who has scored 122 runs from four matches in the ongoing mega event.
“We will try to perform well in the next game to qualify for the next stage.”
After arriving in Bulawayo from Harare on Wednesday afternoon, Pakistan took a day off before participating in a scenario-based practice game at the Bulawayo Athletic Club on Friday. Pakistan will also take part in a training session at the same venue today (Saturday).
“Before the tournament, we held several camps in Multan where a strong focus was placed on fielding. We had productive sessions there and as a result the team has improved a lot in this department,” Khan said.
“Our preparations have been very good. The scenario-based match was of high quality and it closely reflected actual match conditions.”
PAKISTAN SQUAD
Farhan Yousaf (captain), Usman Khan (vice-captain), Abdul Subhan, Ahmed Hussain, Ali Hasan Baloch, Ali Raza, Daniyal Ali Khan, Hamza Zahoor (wk), Huzaifa Ahsan, Momin Qamar, Mohammad Sayyam, Niqab Shafiq, Sameer Minhas and Umar Zaib
