The benchmark KSE-100 Index shed 953.60 points or 1.45%, and was hovering at 64,801.7 at the market closing.

The KSE-30 Index shed 264.16 points or 1.20% and was trading at 21,747.77 levels at the closing of the trading session.

A day earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet took oath, with many old faces returning to his team while the key minister of finance was given to former HBL Bank CEO Muhammad Aurangzeb.

The oath was administered by President Asif Ali Zardari in a ceremony at the President House.

Meanwhile, Minister Aurangzeb said that Pakistan will begin talks with the International Monetary Fund for the second review of the stand-by agreement in the ongoing week.

The minister also added that 2024 would be a ‘difficult’ year for Pakistan’s economy.