KARACHI: Stocks tumbled on Wednesday after the latest figures of the death toll of surging fourth wave of pandemic frightened investors who dumped the stocks mainly in the second half. The KSE-100 index sank 369 points, or 0.77 per cent, to close at 47,318.
Market capitalisation saw erosion of Rs56 billion in a day.
Stocks started off on a positive note as traders were encouraged by the SBP decision to leave the policy rate unchanged at 7pc to support economic growth. The IMF also revised GDP growth projection for Pakistan upwards to 3.9pc for FY21. The index thus climbed to intraday high by 188 points, before fear gripped investors who started to liquidate positions in the rollover week.
KARACHI: The stock market snapped four-day losing streak on Thursday as the bulls appeared out of nowhere to toss the KSE-100 index up by 805 points, or 1.70 per cent, to close at 48,053 points. Traders and analysts fumbled for reasons to justify the massive rebound.
Market participants attributed the sudden surge of investors’ interest in equities to the decline in oil prices in the international market; Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Zhao Lijian positive talk at the Gwadar Port and the government having raised Rs146bn through the PIBs auction where yield remained unchanged.
The developing situation in Afghanistan and the increase in Covid-19 cases for the first time in a week, were set aside. While those positives advanced by market gurus were convincing in varying degrees, the one major reason was the massive buying by mutual funds of stocks worth $12.7m. A fund manager said that “a leading state-owned pension fund” had invested huge idle sums in mutual funds.
Pakistan to rein in $14bln govt owes to energy firms
Business
April 18, 2021
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is finalizing a plan to address about 2.2 trillion rupees ($14.4 billion) of debt the government owes to the energy sector, a liability that’s doubled in the past two years as power purchases outstripped demand, Bloomberg reported.
Islamabad aims to pay 400 billion rupees in late fees to several electricity producers by June in a deal to cut power costs, and will ask banks to restructure the remaining debt, according to Tabish Gauhar, special assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan for the energy sector. The government had previously pledged to make these payments by February.
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Publishing date: Apr 15, 2021 • 1 hour ago • 2 minute read •
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(Bloomberg) Pakistan is finalizing a plan to address about 2.2 trillion rupees ($14.4 billion) of debt the government owes to the energy sector, a liability that’s doubled in the past two years as power purchases outstripped demand.
Islamabad aims to pay 400 billion rupees in late fees to several electricity producers by June in a deal to cut power costs, and will ask banks to restructure the remaining debt, according to Tabish Gauhar, special assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan for the energy sector. The government had previously pledged to make these payments by February.