KARACHI:
The Pakistan Stock Exchange skyrocketed over 900 points on Monday and surpassed 47,000 point barrier in intra-day trading as return to old trading system rejuvenated investor interest.
Late on Saturday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange announced to temporarily revert to the previous trading system (KATS) after material issues emerged in the Jade Trading Terminal (JTT) of the new trading system (NTS), implemented by the bourse on previous Monday (October 25).
Moreover, optimism over assistance from Saudi Arabia lent further support to the rally. The market also weighed sentiment on the expected announcement of resumption of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme by the government.
At 1:25 PM, the KSE-100 index was trading at 47,143.04 points after a gain of 958.33 points or 2.07%.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Arif Habib Limited Head of Research Tahir Abbas said that stock market had been trading under capacity for the past few days due to lack of developments in talks with IMF and political unrest in the country.
“The market is rallying on the back of normalisation of political situation coupled with timely assistance from Saudi Arabia for Pakistan,” he said. “Besides, rapid appreciation in rupee against the US dollar is also contributing to the rise.”
According to market rumours, Pakistan is nearing an agreement with IMF to revive the bailout, he pointed out.
He added that the combination of positive newsflows had bolstered investor interest and they were making fresh investments.
Finally, the return to KATS trading system sent the market soaring. Problems in the new trading system had limited gains in the past week.
“The new system had several issues and trade volumes remained on the lower side last week which had subdued investor spirits,” he said. “Owing to the technical problems, the index was unable to surge to its actual potential when Saudi Arabia made the upbeat announcement therefore part of the uptrend is stemming from the facilitation extended by the Middle Eastern nation.”
Although the shift to the previous trading system is temporary but it proved vital in lifting the market, the analyst said.
