By-poll upset sends shockwaves through market

Rupee nosedives to 215.20 to a dollar; stocks shed 707 points

KARACHI:

The financial markets came under heavy battering on Monday, a day after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the by-elections in Punjab, changing the country’s political landscape, once again.

The rupee nosedived by a whopping 1.97% in a single day to hit an all-time low at Rs215.20 against the dollar in the inter-bank market, while the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) plunged by more than 700 points.

Analysts attribute the development to the political uncertainty arising out of the outcome of the Punjab by-elections. The capital market came under renewed pressure in the wake of “political and economic uncertainties in Pakistan,” an analyst said.

The rupee slid by Rs4.25 to a dollar, losing significant ground against the backdrop of continuing political uncertainty and poor macroeconomic situation. The currency breached the previous record low of 211.93 to a dollar touched on June 22.

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In line with the rupee fall, the benchmark KSE-100 index slumped more than 600 points shortly after trading began and lost 713.19 points against the previous day's close of 42,074.91. however, the index closed at 41,367.11 points, down 707.8 points or 1.68 per cent.

The stocks of 326 companies were traded during the day, out of which 253 were in the red, 55 green and 18 remained unchanged. The main board volumes remained dull although hefty volumes were observed in the third-tier stocks, analysts said.

Meanwhile, the price of 24-karat gold rose to Rs142,400 per tola from Rs140,850 the previous day, depicting an increase of by Rs1,550, whereas the prices of 10 gram 22-karat went up to Rs111,911 from Rs110,693, the other day.