The benchmark KSE-100 index stayed in the bullish momentum throughout the day as the market celebrated interest rate not entering into double digits.
The market opened with a positive note as the traders took aggressive bets on cement, steel, construction, and automobile stocks.
At the end of the day, the benchmark KSE-100 recorded an increase of 1120.15 points, or 2.59%, to settle at 44,366.86 on Wednesday.
Pakistani equities welcomed the central bank’s move of policy rate hike by 100bps to 9.75% by rallying 1,260 points during the day.
Today’s surge was notably fueled by interest rate certainty and the State Bank of Pakistan’s bullish near-term forecast. Investor sentiments were bolstered on the back of the Central Bank’s forecast that future monetary policies will remain mostly unaltered as the economy gets a feeler for positive growth.
As far as the local bourse is concerned, many analysts conversely said the rate hike was in line with the forecasts and would provide investors with more certainty in the future.
Market players, who had held off on making purchases while waiting for clear information on the interest rate, made new investments throughout the session today. Assistant Vice President at JS Global Capital Limited, Muhammad Waqas Ghani said,
The market has reacted positively to the forward guidance provided by SBP in yesterday’s Monetary policy Statement. The MPC increased the policy rate by 100bps bringing it to 9.75%, as opposed to a 175bps hike implied by market rates. SBP also gave an indication that the policy settings would remain broadly unchanged in the near term. Cyclical sectors are in the limelight, especially after SBP’s indication of no policy move in Jan 2022. It is expected that further tightening in Pakistan will be at a slower pace now compared to what was previously anticipated.
During the session, shares of 383 listed companies were traded. At the end of the session, 304 stocks closed in the green, 70 in the red, and 09 remained unchanged. In the All shares index, 398 million shares were traded today, while 178 million shares were traded in KSE-100
Technology, Cement, and E&P sector’s stocks led the show where LUCK, SYS, TRG, PPL and PSO cumulatively added 418 points to the bourse.
Top Volumes
| SCRIP | PRICE | HIGH | LOW | CHANGE | VOLUME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WTL | 2.20 | 2.28 | 1.86 | .4 | 53,266,000 |
| BYCO | 6.75 | 6.82 | 6.2 | .76 | 34,603,000 |
| HASCOL | 6.54 | 6.72 | 6.08 | .53 | 19,774,266 |
| HUMNL | 6.13 | 6.35 | 5.55 | .63 | 14,559,000 |
| FFL | 9.51 | 9.72 | 9.23 | .52 | 13,862,500 |
| MLCF | 36.46 | 36.51 | 35.1 | 2.49 | 11,334,393 |
| TREET | 41.72 | 41.72 | 39.11 | 2.91 | 10,652,000 |
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank hiked the benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 9.75 percent after the market closed on Tuesday, marking the third consecutive hike since September.
