Stocks scale new peak despite political, security concerns

Dominant bulls managed to navigate the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) through turbulent paths to an unprecedented level above 100,000 despite economic, political, and security concerns during the outgoing week. The unending political instability, rising costs, and deteriorating law and order situation were key worries of big businesses and multinational companies, warning that these issues forced industrialists to relocate their operations abroad. According to AKD Securities Ltd, the PSX remained volatile throughout the week due to an acceleration in political instability amid the opposition party reaching to protest in the capital, creating uncertainty amongst investors and leading to a record single-day fall in the KSE-100 index, marking a decrease of 3,506 points on Tuesday. The market regained momentum in subsequent sessions after the protestors started to back off from Islamabad. The bull run was further fuelled by a circular from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), removing the minimum deposit rate (MDR) requirements on deposits held by commercial banks of financial institutions and public sector enterprises.