As of current, the index is settled at 36,950.78.
The fall has caused major hits to the automobile industry as all of the automobile manufactures suffered major losses in comparison to Friday's Last Day Closing Price (LDCP). Cement and Pharmaceutical industries also suffered major hits.
Last week, Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid talked about the increase in prices of medicines. She said that the prices have been increased by the federal government and that the provincial government has urged the federal setup to review its policies.
Last Monday, the stock index closed at 38,649.34, witnessing a decrease of 0.74% from the previous week. Since Monday, the index has continued to fall. In total, from last Monday to today, the index has lost 1699.03 points.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday worried investors. The bank painted a worrying picture of Pakistan’s economy, saying economic growth would slow down to 3.9% with higher inflation and there would be continued pressure on the exchange rate and current account deficit.
ADB said that delay in finalisation of the International Monetary Programme (IMF) and the continuous depreciation of rupee against the US dollar also took a toll and fuelled bearish sentiment.
Pakistan’s external debt would increase to $120 billion in the next two years, economist and former finance minister Dr Hafeez A Pasha writes in his book.
The reason for the increase is Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s continuous borrowing of money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and friendly nations e.g. China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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