After the biggest slump of over 3,500 points on Tuesday, bulls made a strong return as the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rebounded, with the KSE-100 surging over 3,800 points during intraday trade on Wednesday.
According to the PSX website, the market opened on a bullish note and the benchmark index climbed over 3,700 points as of 09:30 am.
At 01:25 pm, the KSE-100 was hovering at 98,416.06 level, up by 3841.90 points or 4.06% from the previous close of 94,574.16 points.
The upward rally was primarily driven by two factors: decisive overnight action by law enforcement agencies against PTI protesters, clearing key protest sites such as Blue Area and D-Chowk, and the removal of the Minimum Profit Rate (MPR) requirement for conventional banks on deposits.
Buying returned to the market with the key sectors including automobile assembler, automobile parts & accessories, cement, commercial banks, oil & gas exploration companies, pharmaceuticals, power generation & distribution and refinery trading in the green zone.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday announced the removal of the Minimum Profit Rate (MPR) requirement for conventional banks on deposits from financial institutions, public sector enterprises, and public limited companies.
Additionally, Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) were directed to pay at least 75% of the weighted average gross yield from their investment pools as profit on PKR savings deposits, further boosting investor confidence.
On Tuesday, the PSX experienced a sharp downturn, with the KSE-100 Index plunging 3,505.62 points, or 3.57%, to close at 94,574.16. The plunge followed violent clashes between PTI supporters and security forces in Islamabad.
