ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged by only 0.03 percent when trading ended on Monday, with a financial analyst attributing it to “slower trading activity” as investors remain cautious ahead of the upcoming federal budget to be announced by the government. 

Pakistan’s federal budget for the next fiscal year, starting July, will be finalized within the next three weeks. Pakistan’s scheduled budget talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which began on May 14 are scheduled to take place till May 23, the finance ministry had said.

The KSE-100 index surged by 40.49 points or 0.03 percent to reach 119,689.63 points when the market closed at 4 p.m. on Monday, data from the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) said. 

“The KSE100 has started the week on a muted note, which is reflecting in slower trading activity,” Raza Jafri, head of Intermarket Securities, told Arab News.

“It is possible that investors are waiting for the FY26 Budget, expected in early June, before they become more active.”

Pakistan’s stock market suffered an upheaval triggered by the most intense military row between Pakistan and India in years earlier this month. The two nuclear-armed nations agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10 after pounding each other with missiles, drones, artillery and fighter jets for four days. 

The crisis triggered a 12 percent decline in the Pakistani stock market from April 23 till May 8.
However, the market recovered nearly all of its losses last week, climbing more than 3,500 points.