KSE-100 slides to over one-month low after 708-point fall on rate hike jitters

Negativity persisted at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), as the benchmark KSE-100 Index fell below the 47,000 level on Tuesday.

The KSE-100 remained in red for most of the session amid fears of a policy rate hike by the central bank and concerns related to rupee’s free fall against the US dollar.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 46,770.42, down by 708.19 points or 1.49%.

The KSE-100 fell below 47,000 level after over a month. It had earlier closed at 46,724.58 on July 26, 2023.

On Monday, KSE-100 Index closed lower by nearly 200 points, weighed down by collective pessimism over rupee’s record fall and lack of positive triggers.

Across-the-board selling was witnessed on Tuesday, with index-heavy sectors, including automobile assemblers, chemical, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, and refinery sector trading in the red zone.

Experts said negative economic indicators were playing on the minds of investors, leading to the bearish sentiment in the market.

“The stock market has been under pressure for last few sessions, owing to a number of factors,” Fahad Rauf, Head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities Limited, told Business Recorder.

The expert said market participants were concerned over the recent public protests against exorbitant electricity bills. “This may lead to recovery issue for power distribution companies.”

“Additionally, inflation rate is expected to be higher this month, while the exchange rate is also not stabilising. The market is projecting another policy rate hike in the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee dropped to another record low against the US dollar, as it settled at 303.05 in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the rupee was down Rs1.05 or 0.35%, as per the State Bank of Pakistan.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 217.85 million from 184.13 million on Monday.

The value of shares rose to Rs8.281 billion from Rs6.465 billion in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 27.409 million shares, followed by K-Electric Ltd. with 14.732 million shares and Dewan Motors with 9.55 million shares.

Shares of 328 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 62 registered an increase, 244 recorded a fall, and 22 remained unchanged.