The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a significant drop, with the KSE-100 index benchmark falling more than 900 points.
The PSX saw a decline of nearly 1.22%, closing at 74,666.65 points, during Tuesday’s intraday trading.
At its lowest, the PSX fell 1,212 points from its intraday high of 75,878.48 points, the previous day.
On a positive note, International Packaging Films Limited (IPAK) began trading publicly on the exchange today, offering shareholders the opportunity to buy and sell its shares on the open market.
Last month, IPAK successfully raised Rs1.76 billion by selling 70.10 million shares at Rs25.20 per share. The initial public offering (IPO) generated significant investor interest during the book-building phase, leading to an oversubscription by 1.73 times in terms of value.
The strike price of Rs25.20 per share was established during this phase, according to a press statement from PSX.
On June 2, the market underwent a correction, ending the week with a modest decline of over 100 points.
Investor sentiment has been dampened by the looming federal budget, which may include potential changes such as an increase in the sales tax rate and reductions in income tax slabs for the salaried class to boost tax revenue.
Despite the finance ministry’s forecasts of a sharp decline in inflation and a stable Pakistani rupee, which provided some support to the market, investors remained cautious.
Last week, the exchange saw a significant recovery, with the KSE-100 index surging 1,000 points. This rebound was driven by expectations of a notable decrease in inflation and the government’s development spending and growth projections for the coming year.
