Investors cheer Dar’s assurance Pakistan will not seek debt restructuring from Paris club.
Benchmark KSE-100 index traded between hope and despair.
Investors kept a close watch on SBP’s decision on monetary policy.
KARACHI: The bulls staged a comeback at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday cheering Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s assurance that Pakistan will not seek debt restructuring from the Paris club.
Constant assurance from the top leadership that Pakistan will not seek debt restructuring from Paris Club creditor nations enticed market participants.
Moreover, Dar dismissed market rumours that the government might extend maturities for its bonds, saying that the country will fulfil all multilateral, international and bond obligations.
The benchmark KSE-100 index traded between hope and despair, which eventually let loose the bulls, who pulled the bourse into the green.
Investors kept a close watch on the State Bank of Pakistan’s decision on the monetary policy — which was later kept unchanged at 15% for the next seven weeks.
The KSE-100 index gained since the morning bell rang, but some dips were seen at regular intervals. The downtrend turned steeper at midday bulls managed to regain control.
The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 42,211.64 points with an increase of 126.39 points or 0.30%.
Benchmark KSE-100 index intra-day trading curve. — PSX data portal
Topline Securities in its post-market commentary noted that the KSE-100 index largely traded in the positive zone due to Dar’s statement regarding Pakistan not planning to seek a debt restructuring.
Shares of 336 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 161 scrips closed in the green, 149 in the red, and 26 remained unchanged.
Overall trading volumes declined to 240.19 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 313.34 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs10.53 billion.
Worldcall Telecom was the volume leader with 31.15 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.03 to close at Rs1.63. It was followed by Pak Elektron with 27.14 million shares traded, gaining Rs1.21 to close at Rs17.45 and TRG Pakistan with 26.74 million shares gaining Rs7.29 to close at Rs151.43.
Remittances under the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) increased from US $9.342 billion at the end of 2024 to US $9.564 billion by the end of January 2025.
The most recent data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed that remittance inflows in January totaled US$222 million, compared to US$203 million in December and US$186 million in November 2024.
Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own a Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Card (POC), desire to engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan using these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking options.
Nearly 778,697 accounts were registered under the scheme by the end of January 2025, according to the data.
By the end of January, foreign-born Pakistanis had contributed US $59 million to Roshan Equity Investment, US $479 million to Naya Pakistan Certificates, and US $799 to Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates.
A year-by-year breakdown of the depreciation value of residential and commercial built-up properties is included in the updated property valuation rates for Karachi that the FBR has announced.
The notification said that built-up structural values on residential property will be gradually reduced.
A residential home’s built-up structure, which is five to ten years old, will lose five percent of its worth.
In a similar vein, constructions between the ages of 10 and 15 will lose 7.5% of their value, while those between the ages of 15 and 25 would lose 10%. Built-up structures that are more than 25 years old will be valued similarly to an open plot.
Furthermore, age will also be used to lower the valuation of built-up properties, such as apartments and flats.
Structures that are five to ten years old will depreciate by ten percent, while those that are ten to twenty years old will depreciate by twenty percent. A 30% depreciation will be applied to properties that are 20 to 30 years old, while a 50% reduction will be applied to those that are above 30 years old.
In terms of commercial built-up properties, buildings that are 10 to 15 years old will lose 5% of their value, while those that are 15 to 25 years old will lose 8%. The value of properties that are more than 25 years old will drop by 10%.
In contrast, there would be a 15% boost in the value of commercial properties in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) that face any Khayaban.
Remittances from Pakistani workers totalled US$3.0 billion in January 2025, representing a 25.2% increase from the previous year.
The cumulative remittances for July through January of FY25 were 20.8 billion dollars, up 31.7 percent from 15.8 billion dollars during the same period in FY24.
In January 2025, the United States of America contributed 298.5 million dollars, the United Kingdom contributed 443.6 million dollars, the United Arab Emirates contributed 621.7 million dollars, and Saudi Arabia contributed 728.3 million dollars.