KARACHI: The Pakistan Stocks Exchange (PSX) on Thursday hit a new lifetime high above the 94,200-point mark amid strong expectations of a soft landing for the economy, following reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is unlikely to push Pakistan to introduce a mini-budget.
As of 12:22pm, the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 865 points, reaching a record high of 94,225 points.
Khurram Schehzad, CEO of Alpha Beta Core, suggests that investor optimism is being driven by the IMF team’s ongoing smooth review, pushing the market into uncharted territory.
Schehzad notes that this raises the likelihood of Pakistan successfully completing the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement.
The IMF mission, after meetings with Pakistani authorities, has reportedly given a thumbs-up to an increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio by nearly 1.5 percentage points — a significant achievement by the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR).
This improvement means there’s no immediate need for additional tax measures through a supplementary finance bill.
It must be noted that the IMF had previously set a target for Pakistan to boost its tax revenues by 1.5% of GDP in the fiscal year 2024-25, targeting a total increase of 3% throughout the 37-month programme.
It was a blue-chip-buying fest today as sectors, such as commercial banks, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, and power generation, stole the show.
Major support came from heavyweights, including MCB Bank, Meezan Bank Limited, National Bank of Pakistan, Hub Power Company, Mari Petroleum Company, Oil & Gas Development Company, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd, and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited.
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