Imran Khan’s protest plans wipes off $3.5 billion from Pakistan’s Stock Market

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Imran Khan’s protest plans wipes off $3.5 billion from Pakistan’s Stock Market Pakistani opposition leader Imran Khan has given a call for a shut down in Islamabad next week and the news has already wiped off $3.5 billion from the Pakistan’s stock market.
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"Since hitting its record high on October 20, 2016, the benchmark-100 index has retreated 1,558.64 points, down 3.75% during the course of five trading sessions that wiped off over Rs 353.65 billion," The Express Tribune newspaper wrote.

Imran has earlier successfully led shut down protests in the latter half of 2014. The selloff in the stock market halted the 26.6% gain seen in the KSE-100 index - akin to India's Sensex - in fewer than 10 months. And the push to sell has only increased since Pakistan Awami Tehreek chairman Allama Tahir ul Qadri said he will join PTI's protest.

"Increasing political uncertainty, as (the) date of PTI protests in Islamabad approaches, remains the main reason of nervousness among investors. The situation is exacerbated with religious parties joining the protest," said Muhammad Shamoon Tariq, a partner at the Sweden-based Tundra Fonder, which has assets under management in Pakistan worth $150 million, to The Express Tribune.

Tariq feels that there are few other important developments on the political front that are scaring the investors.

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"Markets are always scared of uncertainty and in the current protest call of PTI, no one is very sure of the outcome. The timing of these protests is also significant as the new Army chief's appointment is still pending," Tariq told the Pakistani newspaper, referring to the upcoming end of tenure of General Raheel Sharif.

"Political noise always has a greater impact on equities than any other news flow. The locking down of the capital where all the government machinery, foreign diplomats and foreign institutions reside is certainly the most important factor in the investors' minds right now," he further added.
(image: Indiatimes)