Buying momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 366 points to close above 92,000 for the first time in history.
The KSE-100 started the session positive to reach 92,514.30, a record intra-day high in PSX history. It was followed by some selling for a brief period, which pushed the index to an intra-day low of 91,536.09.
However, a buying spree remained largely dominant in the latter hours, aiding the index close above 92,000 for the first time.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 92,304.32, up by 366.32 points or 0.40%.
“This positive trend is largely attributed to the State Bank of Pakistan’s recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision, marking a fourth consecutive rate cut with a 250 bps reduction, bringing the policy rate to 15%,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
“Additionally, assurances from the State Bank governor on key economic indicators bolstered investor confidence,” it added.
Key contributors during the day included LUCK, HUBC, OGDC, SYS, and MTL, which collectively added 274 points. On the flipside, UBL, HBL, BAHL, CHCC and MEBL were the major laggards which cumulative subtracted 143 points from the index, Topline said.
On Monday, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the central bank cut the key interest rate by 250bps, taking it from 17.5% to 15% after a fourth successive round of monetary easing that began in June 2024.
“The Committee noted inflation has declined faster than expected and has reached close to its medium-term target range in October.”
Farrukh Sabzwari appointed Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) CEO
The MPC observed that inflation pressures are subsiding due to a decline in food inflation, favourable global trends in oil and absence of anticipation of adjustments in gas prices.
The 250bps rate cut exceeded analyst and investor expectations, who had projected a decline of 200bps.
On Monday, the PSX continued its merry run as its benchmark index closed 1.2% higher at 91,938.01, up by 1,078.15 points, ahead of the monetary policy announcement.
Globally, stock markets moved sideways and an uneasy calm settled over currencies and bonds as investors waited for the United States to choose a new leader with polls showing the contest on a knife edge.
Oil held sharp overnight gains on delays to producers’ plans for increased output, leaving benchmark Brent crude futures at $75.08 a barrel after a 3% rise on Monday.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat.
Tokyo’s Nikkei returned from a holiday and rose 1.3% in morning trade.
S&P 500 futures ticked 0.1% higher.
The dollar, which had eased overnight as traders made final adjustments to positions, bought 152.35 yen and traded at $1.0875 per euro.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered a marginal decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.02% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the currency settled at 277.84, a loss of Re0.05 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index jumped to 752.66 million from 589.55 million on Monday.
The value of shares also rose to Rs32.83 billion from Rs29.96 billion in the previous session.
Power Cement was the volume leader with 66.26 million shares, followed by Sui South Gas with 51.96 million shares, and Fauji Foods Ltd with 32.40 million shares.
Shares of 452 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 223 registered an increase, 169 recorded a fall, while 60 remained unchanged.