Stocks rise as the current account data improves.

Canada Global (Web News) As political unrest continues to be a source of concern, dealers stated that investors appeared to celebrate the reduction of the current account (CA) gap in a closely guarded trade as stocks increased.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) increased by 167.43 points to close at 42,928.62 after reaching an intraday high of 315.26 points at 43,076.45 points.

After the nation’s current account deficit sharply shrunk by 47% over the first four months of this fiscal year, local equity markets ended on a high note, according to Darson Research’s post-market note (FY23).

According to the firm, “this alone was the key driver behind the bourse’s buoyancy.”

The central bank-led limitations that have successfully slowed imports caused Pakistan’s current account deficit to rise $204 million or 56% to $567 million for October 2022 as compared to September’s $363 million. However, it shrank 68% year-over-year (YoY).

During the first four months of this fiscal year (4MFY23), the current account deficit decreased by 47% year over year to $2.821 billion from $5.305 billion during the same time of the previous fiscal, according to figures issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday.

Analysts ascribed the monthly decrease in the deficit to a 9% month-over-month ($221 million) fall in worker remittances to $2.216 million.

The opposite was true for TRG Pakistan, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, and Oil and Gas Development Company, who lost 30 points altogether due to profit-taking.

Today saw around 194 million shares traded for a total trade value of Rs6.8 billion. With a trade of 18.5 million shares, WorldCall Telecom Limited took the top spot on the volume list.