KSE-100: Covid fears weigh down index by 93 points
April 22, 2021
Investors treaded cautiously at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday, as overall lack of positive triggers, and rising Covid fears restrained the index and resulted in range-bound trading.
On Wednesday, the benchmark KSE-100 opened on a bullish note and touched intra-day high at 45,626.88 level after gaining 227.1 points. However, paring early gains the index reversed its trajectory and clocked at 45,306.54 level by the closing bell after posting a 93 points loss.
During the session the market was gripped with fears of rising Covid cases, after the Federal Minister for Planning and Development and the Chief of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Asad Umar on Wednesday issued a warning and said that if the coronavirus situation continues to worsen in the country, the government will be compelled to impose more restrictions, which dampened investors’ confidence.
How to Invest in the Pakistan Stock Exchange
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The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), formerly known as the Karachi Stock Exchange, was created when exchanges in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad were merged by the Pakistan government. The PSX is now the only stock exchange in Pakistan. With 546 companies listed, the exchange has a total market capitalization of approximately $50 billion. Investing overseas can enhance your investment portfolio, but before you take such a step consider working with a financial advisor who’s familiar with global exchanges.
PSX History
The Karachi Stock Exchange began operations in 1947 as the first stock exchange in Pakistan. In 1970 the Lahore exchange was established and in 1989 another exchange began in Islamabad. In 2016 the two newer exchanges were merged into the Karachi Stock Exchange and the entity was renamed the Pakistan Stock Exchange. Despite the name change, the major index tracking Pakistani stocks is still called the KSE 100.
The road to prosperity
Pakistan needs an economic transformation policy framework to overhaul its economy by redefining and restructuring its resources as well as incentives for economic growth. This policy framework is necessitated to achieve sustainable development goals by improving social and human capital indicators. The macroeconomic transformation framework revolves around some of the key initiatives like pursuing a growth model promoting investment, public-private partnership, infrastructure development, large scale manufacturing, enhancing exports, ensuring energy and food security. The ICT infrastructure and knowledge economy are pivotal to this model. Last but not least, institutional reforms are absolutely necessary for the good governance necessary for implementation of this economic framework.
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