Stock markets soars over 1200 points as relief package approved

KARACHI: The stock market bounced back on Tuesday and soared over 1200 points in intra-day trading as investor confidence improved over the financial stimulus package approved by the government.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet on Monday approved an economic relief packaged worth Rs1200 billion to offset the adverse effects of the novel coronavirus that has ravaged stock markets and the economy.

Investors cheered the relief package and returned to the stock market which rallied on Tuesday and ended on an upward trajectory. The benchmark KSE 100 index soared by 1208.24 points (4.31 percent) and closed at 29,231.63 points. The total volume of shares was 186.153 million valued at Rs6.902 billion.

The indices kept rising as bulls returned to the stock market after weeks of free fall amid the coronavirus. The lower bench KSE 30 index also witnessed a healthy gain of 576.14 points (4.69 percent) and close at 12,861.22 points. The total volume of scripts was 97.315 million.

The main reason behind the rally at the stock market was the relief package approved by the government on Monday. This was coupled with an improvement in regional stock as many other countries have also similar stimulus packages which has helped equity markets to recover.

Investor confidence has also eased that there might be a partial relaxation in the lockdown imposed by the government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. It is observed that the effect of the coronavirus is not worse than expected.