Shares at PSX climb 700 points in intraday trade – Business

Bulls maintained control of the trading floor as shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) climbed nearly 700 points in intraday trade on Monday.

The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 690.48 points, or 0.6 per cent, to stand at 115,962.56 points from the previous close of 115,272.08 at 2pm.

Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities, attributed the upward trajectory to “signs of political stability, along with expectations of another rate cut, helping sentiments”.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is due to meet on Jan 27 to decide on its key interest rate.

In a survey of market participants conducted by Topline Securities, a brokerage firm in Karachi, it was noted that 61pc of participants expected a rate cut of 100 basis points (bps).

Among the remaining participants, 17pc anticipated a rate cut of 200bps, 7pc expected a rate cut of 150bps, and 6pc of the participants expected no change in the monetary policy.

“In our view, participants are expecting a rate cut due to high real rates of 950bps in Jan 2025 compared to [the] historic average of 200-300bps, despite 900bps cut in total interest rates in last five consecutive meetings since June 2024,” the brokerage firm said.

Furthermore, it highlighted that real rates are high as the monthly inflation reading for January 2025 was expected to clock in at around 3.5pc on the back of faster food disinflation and negative electricity prices adjustments (FCA).

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