Stocks surge to new all-time high driven by IMF deal

Stocks soared to an all-time high on Monday, propelled by investors who frenziedly bought into optimism that surged after a new deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — critical to shore up the struggling economy, according to traders.

Pakistan and the IMF struck a staff-level agreement (SLA) for a 37-month-long, $7 billion loan programme with tough measures such as raising tax on farm income.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Shares Index surged 1211.51 points or 1.52% to reach 81,155.60 points compared to the previous close of 79,944.10 points.

The SLA caps negotiations that started in May after Islamabad completed a short-term, $3 billion programme that helped stabilise the economy, avert a sovereign debt default and set challenging revenue targets in its budget to get IMF approval.