KARACHI: Trading on the stock market opened on a positive note in the outgoing week amid expectation of certain budgetary measures.

Arif Habib Ltd said sentiments improved as investors expected a likely tax on corporates that didn’t announce pay-outs in rec­ent years. They resorted to buying while anticipating that the rumoured tax would encourage companies to revive pay-outs.

Moreover, a statement by the International Mon­etary Fund (IMF) indicated that it remained engaged with the incumbent government to pave the way for the resumption of the loan programme.

However, the market momentum started slowing down as economic num­bers showed the highest monthly year-on-year inflation for May at 38 per cent.

Additionally, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)-held foreign exchange reserves fell by $218 million to $4.09 billion. The rupee depreciated against the dollar by 0.1pc week-on-week and closed at 285.67.

As a result, the benchmark index of the stock market closed at 41,352 poi­nts after going up 388 poi­nts or 0.95pc from a week ago.

Sector-wise, positive contributions came from technology and communication (110 points), cement (100 points), fertiliser (75 points), exploration and production (53 points) and engineering (29 points).

According to AKD Securities, the stock market is expected to remain range-bound in the near future while the upcoming federal budget will dictate the market direction going forward.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2023