KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) KSE-100 index continued to fall for a seventh straight week, in what is reported as the worst week in 30 weeks of business, and its longest streak since 2001.
The losses were extended by 1,549 points in the week amid concerns over the macroeconomic indicators, after the nation secured a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
As investors lost about Rs315 billion within a week due to the rupee’s plunge, several investors offloaded their stocks once again.
The Pakistani rupee depreciated to a new all-time low around 149 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market. It was the second successive day when the rupee lost significant ground in a fresh round of depreciation.
Consequently, the KSE-100 index plunged to a low of 33,166 points with a decrease of 804.50 points or 2.37 percent at the end of the trading in the week. As many as 63.3 million shares — worth Rs2.7 billion — of the benchmark index companies changed hands during the session.
Foreign investors bought shares worth $82 million only.
According to a Topline Securities advisory, the fall in the index level is due to devaluation of rupee against dollar for last two working days, expected hike in policy rate in the next monetary policy meeting on Monday, and selling pressure from mutual funds.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank fell by 1.5pc on a weekly basis and were recorded at $8.85 billion.
