PSX lands hard as IMF team takes off without deal

• Bourse remained under pressure throughout day.
• IMF bailout revival holdup weighed on sentiment.
• Exploration and production, power lead losses.

Stocks toppled on Friday as International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $6 billion bailout was still far out of the reach of a fiscally-strangulated Pakistan, traders said, as the country’s fight on the twin fronts of nearly defaulting economy and a surge in terrorism.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Shares Index lost 724.81 points or 1.71% to 41,741.78 points. Volumes shrank 86 million shares to 281.894 million from 367.356 million shares, while the trading value increased to Rs14.709 billion from Rs13.590 billion.

Topline Securities in a note said the apex bourse remained under pressure throughout the day. “The failure of the government to reach a staff-level agreement with the IMF even after a week-long talk on 9th review stampeded the investors towards exits,” the brokerage said.

A major contribution to the index came from Colgate-Palmolive (Pakistan) Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company, Hub Power Company Limited, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, and Lucky Cement, as they together lost 388 points.

Pakistan and the IMF teams agreed to continue talks on a bailout deal, delaying the disbursement of $1.1 billion in funding critical to stabilising the dwindling economy.

"Virtual discussions will continue in the coming days," IMF Pakistan Mission Chief Nathan Porter said in a statement, thanking the authorities for the “constructive discussions”.

The statement, issued after the mission concluded its 10-day Pakistan visit, welcomed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s commitment to implement policies that are required to “safeguard macroeconomic stability”.

Porter noted that “considerable progress” was made during the talks with Pakistani officials on “policy measures to address domestic and external imbalances”.

Arif Habib Limited (AHL) said that the bears ambushed the PSX following a string of bullish sessions that ended the business week on a sour note.

“The market opened in the red and moved in the same region throughout both sessions after it was reported last night that the staff-level agreement between the government and the IMF mission would take some time,” it reported.

The report said the exploration and production sector was in the spotlight as investors' morale was shattered following the finance minister's statement on the resolution of the gas circular debt.

Across the board, volumes stayed stable, the brokerage said.

Sectors contributing to the performance included exploration and production (-199.8 points), fertiliser (-98.3 points), commercial banks (-97.9 points), power generation & distribution (-81.9 points), and cement (-75.1 points).

Oil and Gas Development Company was the volume leader with 38.731 million shares.

Other stocks that recorded significant turnover included WorldCall Telecom, Hub Power Company, Sui North Gas, Cnergyico PK, Maple Leaf, Lotte Chemical, Habib Bank, and Hascol Petrol.