ISLAMABAD: On Monday, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) and stock markets lost more ground as the coalition government's first budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 failed to restore investor confidence, contrary to market expectations, as sentiment is negative across all stock markets.
During intra-day trade, the Pakistani currency surpassed the key level of 204 versus the US dollar in the interbank market, while the benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) fell by roughly 800 points. The expert said the government budget for the coming fiscal year is being viewed as a "significant milestone" in the resurrection of the stalled $6 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
"Market players expect the government to review its proposed allocations and targets stated in the federal budget in order to satisfy the IMF," analysts said, citing Finance Minister Miftah Ismail's statement over the weekend.
Analysts add that the federal budget has jeopardised the much-anticipated IMF programme. They maintained that more clarification is required since, for the time being, the public perception is that the government must do more.
US yields rise, FOREX-Yen falls to its lowest level since 1998