Brokers jubilant

KARACHI - Most of the brokers at Karachi Stock Exchange appeared jubilant and overjoyed over the PML(N) decision of quitting the federal government.
The brokers are happy that the stock market would get rid of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in the wake of the en-bloc resignations of the PML(N) from the federal cabinet, brokers told The Nation, requesting anonymity.
The Karachi Stock Exchange suddenly took upward surge in anticipation of the news that the PML-N will walk out of the cabinet due to impasse between the two major coalition partners over the issue of the reinstatement of judges.
The KSE-100 index had taken a dip of 200 points on Monday, but the reports of the resignations of the PML(N) changed the sentiment of the stock market and the KSE-100 index closed with a gain of 56 points.
Hours before the leader of the PML-N officially announced his decision at a crowded press conference on disassociating his party from the federal cabinet, trading had already picked up on the floor and the stocks ended with the increase of 56 points. Brokers are anticipating a bullish sentiment at the stock market due to the resignation of Ishaq Dar, who was being termed as an un-favourite anti-stock market finance minister by the key brokers, a broker said.
During the last eight trading sessions KSE-100 index had dropped 1,252 points after the finance minister issued statements to probe stock market crash. The Finance Minister is also believed to have issued notices to two leading brokerage houses of the KSE that triggered panic in the market.
Ishaq Dar had initiated an inquiry into the Pakistan Steel Mills privatization process of which Arif Habib was a major bidder. It is interesting to note here that the party boss of the Ishaq Dar, Nawaz Sharrif is engage in steel and iron business.
The ministry had also issued show cause notices to another leading broker/financial group that had sent a shiver down the spine of the stock exchange brokers who remained nervous and uneasy after Dar took the reins of the finance ministry.
The stock players have bitter memories when Dar was holding the portfolio of finance in the previous term of PML(N).
Brokers said that the situation of Bank of Punjab (BoP) will be stabilized after Ishaq Dar leaves, because during his incumbency the top management of the BoP came under fire, over alleged cases of misappropriation in the issuance of billions of loans.