Overview
- Tuesday’s late sell-off pushed the KSE-100 below 170,000, with the index falling about 825 points as Middle East tensions and higher crude oil prices drove heavy selling.
- Trading volumes rose sharply during the sell-off, with ready-market turnover near 568 million shares and traded value jumping to roughly Rs20.8 billion, signaling active intraday rotation.
- The Ministry of Finance unveiled a Strategic Action Plan for the Local Currency Bond Market as the government opened formal talks with the IMF, and initial optimism around those talks lifted the index to an intraday high above 171,000 on Wednesday.
- Despite the midweek recovery, gains were pared late and foreign investors were net sellers of about Rs132.8 million, while a handful of large banks and energy and fertiliser names continued to drive most of the index’s swings.
- Higher global oil prices threaten Pakistan’s import bill, inflation and external account, so the success of IMF negotiations and the LCBM reforms will be key to easing refinancing pressures and restoring sustained investor confidence.