PSX extends trading time ahead of MSCI upgrade

Passive foreign funds are expected to return to the market

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has announced that it will extend the duration of trade sessions by 15 minutes ahead of the anticipated surge in trade activities with the return of foreign investors.

Earlier this week, the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) upgraded PSX to its Emerging Market index after a gap of nine years, opening the doors to global investors that track the index with $1.4-1.7 trillion in hand.



"The start date of this [MSCI] implementation has been set for June 1, 2017. Based on T+2 [Trade + two days] settlement cycle, it is expected that related orders will come to the market on or before May 30, 2017," PSX General Manager Sani-e-Mehmood Khan said in a statement.

The additional 15 minutes session has been named as post-close session.

"Post-close session shall begin after 30 minutes of the regular market and shall last for 15 minutes, wherein trading shall take place only at the closing price," he said.

Another PSX official added passive foreign funds/investors usually buy stocks at their closing prices to build their portfolios and they may buy stocks in large quantities in initial days.

"The UAE stock market got hanged on the first day of return of passive foreign funds/investors after they placed huge buying orders. Another market generated eight times high trade volumes on such foreign buying."



"Pakistan's analysts are expecting foreign [gross] buying worth $300-800 million this year," Mehmood added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2017.

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