IMF bailout hammers stocks

KARACHI: Stocks on Monday plunged 2.35 percent, posting the biggest single-day loss in 108 sessions as panicked investors ran for the exits, fearing the targets tied with International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) bailout agreement reached over the weekend will drag the economy as well as corporate earnings down into dumps, dealers said.

Pakistan has finalised a deal with the IMF for a three-year, $6 billion bailout package to underpin its flimsy public finances and get the sluggish economy going.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti from Arif Habib Corporations said the record fall was primarily owing to investor fears on impact of unknown prior actions for IMF board approvals and agreed IMF conditions in the upcoming budget to obtain a 39-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF).