Business

KSE-100 falls over 200 points as political uncertainty rattles market

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

At close, benchmark KSE-100 index lost 200 points, or 0.46%, to end session at 43,653.33 points.
Stocks of 332 companies were traded, of which 110 gained in value, 205 declined, and 17 remained unchanged.
Arif Habib Ltd says market had opened in green zone and stayed volatile throughout day.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended the week on a negative note with benchmark KSE-100 closing in the red due to the political unrest in the country in the backdrop of the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The recovery of the rupee against the US dollar, remittances data, and decline in the international oil prices failed to attract market participants, who remained wary of the overall political situation.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index lost 200 points, or 0.46%, to end the session at 43,653.33 points.

Arif Habib Limited, in its post-market commentary, noted that the market had opened in the green zone and stayed volatile throughout the day. It added that the range-bound session was observed due to the “political unrest and overheated commodities cycle”.

Sectors contributing to the performance included commercial banks (-43.0pts), exploration and production (-42.0pts), cement (-40.1pts), power (-30.0pts) and oil marketing companies (-19.5pts).

Stocks of 332 companies were traded, of which 110 gained in value, 205 declined and 17 remained unchanged.

Overall trading volumes dropped to 149.29 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 271.90 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.26 billion.

TPL Properties was the volume leader with 12.27 million shares traded, losing Rs1.26 to close at Rs22.46. It was followed by Pak Elektron with 11.9 million shares traded, losing Rs0.67 to close at Rs1.82, and TPL Corporation with 9.39 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.03 to close at Rs10.06.

Business

There are US$13,280.5 million in foreign exchange reserves in Pakistan.

Published

5 hours ago

Farwa

According to a representative for the central bank, as of April 19, 2024, the nation’s total liquid foreign reserves were valued at US$ 13,280.5 million. A loss of US$74 million left the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign reserves at US$7,981.2 million.

Commercial banks have $5,299.3 million in reserves for Pakistan.

In the week that concluded on April 12, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves increased by $14.4 million to $8.055 billion.

“In a weekly statement, SBP stated that it has repaid US$ 1 billion in principal and interest on Pakistan’s International Bond, which matures this week.”

But at $13.374 billion, the nation’s total reserves decreased by $68 million. In the same way, commercial banks’ reserves dropped to $5.319 billion, a reduction of $82 million.

Business

NIMA seminar to increase Pakistan’s ship recycling industry’s capacity

Published

5 hours ago

Farwa

According to a release, important players from a range of maritime industries attended the conference to discuss issues facing the shipping sector.

It further stated that the symposium cleared the path for the resurgence of a sustainable future in ship recycling.

Participants in the conference included representatives of the Gadani Ship Breaking Labour Union, PSBA, KS&EW, KPT, PMSA, GEMS, and the federal and Balochistani governments.

Furthermore, global perspectives and ideas were offered by international specialists such as Rabia Razzaque from UN-ILO and Professor Raphael Baumler from the World Maritime University.

The seminar emphasized Pakistan’s capacity to emerge as a pioneer in the field of environmentally friendly ship recycling.

In order to protect the environment and the safety of employees, the participants emphasized the importance of following international standards and regulations.

During his speech, Chief Guest Senator Nisar Ahmed Khoro emphasized the importance of the maritime industry’s resurgence and the crucial necessity for coordinated efforts from all parties involved.

A new age of economic prosperity, worker safety, and environmental responsibility for Pakistan’s maritime industry was called for as he urged the stakeholders to work together on a comprehensive SENSREC program.

Vice Admiral Ahmed Saeed (Retd), the president of NIMA, emphasized the significance of environmental stewardship and safety in ship recycling procedures.

Business

Inflows into the Roshan Digital Account surged to $7.660 billion on March 24.

Published

5 hours ago

Farwa

According to the data, remittance inflows for the month of March totaled US$ 182 million, whereas they were US$ 141 million in February and US$ 142 million in January 2024.

Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Cards (POCs), can now engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan with the help of these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking solutions.

According to a statement from the State Bank of Pakistan, the number of accounts registered under the program increased by 11,091 from 668,701 accounts in February 2024 to 679,792 accounts in March 2024.

As of March 2024, the central bank reported that foreign nationals of Pakistan have invested US $312 million in Naya Pakistan Certificates, US $528 million in Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates, and US $31 million in Roshan Equity Investment.

It is important to note that former prime minister Imran Khan introduced the Roshan Digital Account initiative in September 2020 with the goal of giving Pakistanis living abroad access to digital banking services for the first time.