Stocks gain modestly on IMF deal optimism

Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday modestly rose by nearly 200 points as investors cheered the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) willingness to negotiate a new loan programme to help Pakistan address its economic woes.

Investor sentiment got a boost from the new government’s promises to steer the country out of economic instability.

In the morning, trading kicked off on a healthy note and the benchmark KSE-100 index remained at higher levels until midday despite some wide fluctuations. It reached the intra-day high of 66,067.53 points in the second half.

A rally in dollar bonds and shrinking of trade deficit by 30.2% year-on-year (YoY) in Jul-Feb FY24 triggered the positive momentum in the market.