By Hamid Mahmood ISLAMABAD, April 27 (INP-WealthPK): Pakistan’s stock exchange began the April 18-22 week on a high note with exploration and production stocks in the spotlight amid a decline in international oil prices. However, economic worries arising out of the Pakistani rupee devaluing to Rs186.70 against the US dollar and the uncertainty over when the IMF loan programme would resume prevented the bullish momentum from lasting long, reports WealthPK. Meanwhile, the country’s trade imbalance increased to $3.6 billion in March 2022, putting more pressure on the scrips. Furthermore, the World Bank's lower adjustment of the growth objective to 4% and a spike in Treasury bill rates dampened morale even more. According to WealthPK research, the stock market ended the week at 45,553.02 points, down 1,048.52 points, or 2.24 %. The KSE-30 Index and the All-Shares Index fell 316.89 and 561.84 points, respectively. On a week-to-week basis, the KMI-30 Index also dropped 1478.82 points.

Index	Week Start	Week-End	Change	% Δ
KSE 100 Index	46,601.54	45,553.02	-1,048.52	-2.24996856
All Shares Index	31,575.76	31,013.92	-561.84	-1.77933959
KSE 30 Index	17,906.20	17,589.31	-316.89	-1.76972222
KMI 30 Index	76,038.82	74,560.00	-1,478.82	-1.94482239

Source: PSX/ WealthPK Research Stocks closed the day flat on April 18 after soaring from the start amid speculation that some generous oil industry pay-outs were on the way in a week, but the surge was cut short at the eleventh hour by profit-taking. During intraday trade, the benchmark KSE-100 Shares Index fell 61.95 points, or 0.13%, to 46,539.59 points, after rubbing elbows with a high of 46,969.46 and a low of 46,428.95 points. Stocks plummeted on April 19 as a result of the rupee's depreciation against the greenback, a bleak economic prognosis forecast by a multilateral donor, and an impasse over an IMF loan frightened investors into cutting their holdings and taking attainable profits. The benchmark KSE-100 Share Index fell 206.23 points, or 0.44%, to 46,333.36 points, with the day's high and low being 46,737.87 and 46,270.13 points, respectively. The rupee's volatility became a stumbling block for stocks on April 20, igniting a profit-taking rush. At 45,943.16 points, the benchmark KSE-100 Shares Index lost 390.20 points or 0.84%. Stocks fell more on April 21, as the rupee fell further behind the dollar on concerns that rising bond rates might bolster the argument for monetary tightening. The benchmark KSE-100 Shares Index fell 290.54 points, or 0.63%, to 45,652.62 points at the close. Stocks fell on April 22 (last day of the week) as the rupee's devaluation accelerated, raising investor concerns about the new government’s ability to support the wounded economy in short-term. After trading in a narrow range of 45,776.23 and 45,500.86 points, the benchmark KSE-100 Shares Index fell 90.60 points, or 0.22%, to 45,553.02 points. [caption id="attachment_66491" align="aligncenter" width="696"] Source: PSX/ WealthPK Research[/caption] The Foreign Investors Portfolio Investment (FIPI) made a profit of up to $0.97 million by selling its shares last week (April 18-22). Mutual funds earned the most money, selling their shares for $6.02 million, followed by foreign corporates with $2.16 million and banks with $1.24 million. Individuals purchased shares worth up to $7.03 million, followed by overseas Pakistanis, who purchased stocks for $1.15 million. Companies acquired up to $0.87 million worth of stocks. The market is projected to stay range-bound in the upcoming week, Muhammad Irfan, an equity analyst at Arif Habib Private Limited, told WealthPK. Any positive outcome of the government team’s talks with the IMF on the resumption of the loan facility is likely to elicit market action. In the upcoming week, the preferred stocks will be the banking, petroleum, automobile and cement sectors.