Pakistan stocks fall 2.79 pct after appeal for IMF bailout

KARACHI: Pakistan stocks slid by more than 3 percent in early trading on Monday before a slight recovery after the new government sought a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bridge a ballooning current account deficit.

No accord with IMF in case of tough terms: Asad Umar

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s benchmark 100-share index lost 1086.50 points and was trading at 36,431.43 by mid-afternoon, still down 2.9 percent.

Government to arrange $2-3 bn stopgap financing from friends

Pakistan's finance ministry said last week Islamabad was approaching the IMF for assistance to help stabilise the economy that is battling a balance of payments crisis amid a shortage of dollars and dwindling foreign currency reserves.

"After close to 10 percent fall in last two weeks, there are margin calls which is affecting share prices," said Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities brokerage.

"Also, the global selloff and local economic issues are forcing the investors to trim their positions."