Friday, May 09 2025

PSX takes record plunge amid security unrest
Bloodbath continued on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) for the second straight day as the index suffered the largest-ever plunge, causing almost Rs820 billion loss to equity investors on Thursday after India launched drone attacks in major cities, including Karachi and Lahore. The market capital had lost Rs1.3 trillion in value in three sessions as jittery investors preferred to exit the market amid growing uncertainty about the economic outlook as geopolitical tensions turned into a military standoff after India hit three cities with missiles in the wee hours of Wednesday, martyring over 31 innocent civilians. Pakistan’s armed forces responded with the downing of five Indian fighter planes. Meanwhile, Indian shares fell on Thursday in their most volatile session this month. The Nifty 50 settled 0.58pc lower at 24,273.8 and the BSE Sensex fell 0.51pc to 80,334.81 after struggling for direction in early trade.
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Uptick in SBP reserves
Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $118 million to $10.332 billion for the period ending on May 2, announced the central bank, without disclosing the source of this inflow. Bankers believe the rise was due to the SBP’s buying of dollars from the interbank market. It has a target of $14bn by the end of this fiscal year on June 30. The country’s overall liquid foreign exchange reserves stood at $15.482bn, including $5.15bn held by the commercial banks.
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Bitcoin tops $100,000 after US-UK deal
Bitcoin topped $100,000 on Thursday for the first time since early February, bolstered by a wide-ranging deal between the United States and the United Kingdom in a sign that perhaps President Donald Trump’s trade war with the rest of the world is easing. By midday, bitcoin was trading at $101,329.97, a 4.7% gain on the day. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency has clawed its way back into positive territory for the year, although it remains below the record high of more than $109,000 reached in January. Ether, the cryptocurrency for the Ethereum blockchain surged more than 14 per cent to $2,050.46 after earlier hitting its highest since late March. “The retaking of $100,000 must go down as one of bitcoin’s more formidable feats and is a reminder that buying peak fear — just last month bitcoin was languishing around $74,000 — can be exceptionally lucrative,” Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of digital asset trading platform Nexo, said in an emailed comment.
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Export of services rises to $6.2bn in July-March
Pakistan’s export of services grew 9.85 per cent to $6.24 billion in the first nine months of 2024-25 from $5.68bn a year ago, driven by a surge in demand for telecommunication, computer, and information services. Services exports have seen positive growth since February 2024. However, there was a 6.50pc decline in August 2024. In rupee terms, the exports improved by 7.41pc to Rs1.734 trillion in 9MFY25 against Rs1.616tr in FY24, according to statistics released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. In March, services exports recorded a growth of 4.89pc to $743.32 million as against $708.66m over the corresponding month of last year.
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IMF board meets today
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to meet on Friday to approve the immediate disbursement of about $1 billion to Pakistan under the ongoing Extended Fund Faci­li­ty and allow an additional arrangement for the $1.3bn Resilience and Sus­tainability Facility (RSF). In a statement on Thursday, the IMF announced that the board meeting for the first EFF review and RSF is scheduled for Friday.
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