Benchmark 100 index goes down by 1300 points in initial trading

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened on Monday with nosedive in benchmark KSE-100 index, which went down by 1,300 points in the intraday trading.

The PSX with opening of trading today at 40,496 points, dropped to 39,187 points within an hour.

The drop in the stock exchange on the first day of the new week happened on the back of the announcement of the monetary police by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) apart of a persistent fall of the value of Pakistani rupee.

The new government of Prime Minister Imran Khan while politically being seen as in a comfortable position, however grappling with the fast depleting foreign exchange reserves and the challenge of current account deficit at the economic front.

The rupee however, gained some ground to close at 139.06 to the dollar in the interbank market on Nov 30. The dollar had surged to Rs144 at a point on the same day.

The central bank in the new monetary policy raised its policy rate by 150 basis points to contain inflation.

The increase brings the policy rate into double digits amid reports that the move is linked to the government’s ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package.