Business

Pakistani stocks buoyed by US comments

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Positive US statement on Pakistan’s nukes improves sentiment
Rupee depreciation remains a worry for investors
All-eyes on FATF decision on Pakistan

KARACHI: Stocks on Tuesday managed to anchor themselves on the edges of green, but could not venture much further owing as caution reigns supreme ahead of the FATF decision on Pakistan amid restive political undercurrents, traders said.

The KSE-100 Shares Index, the main gauge of the country’s apex bourse, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), gained 84 points or 0.20 percent, to end the day at 41,839 points. The market settled at that number after swinging between a day-high of 42,007.23 and an -low of 41,755.45.

Topline Securities in a post-market note said the US State Department’s positive statement regarding Pakistan’s nuclear programme and the country’s likely whitelisting in the upcoming FATF annual review gave stocks a reason to stay buoyed.

“The official announcement is likely to arrive over the weekend,” the brokerage said.

During the day, technology, E&P, and fertiliser sector stocks supported the index. Scrip-wise, TRG, POL, SNGP, DAWH, and FFC added 89 points, cumulatively, to the index. On the flip side, PSO, NESTLE, and EPCL together lost 25 points.

Out of 90 active companies traded in the session, 49 advanced, 40 retreated and one remained unchanged.

Over 189 million shares were traded, while the total value clocked in at Rs5.8bn. Worldcall Telecom led the volumes chart with 29.8 million traded shares.

The rupee on Tuesday depreciated against the US dollar for the fifth straight session on a spike in demand from importers. The rupee’s downward spiral has been a cause of serious concern over the state of the economy in the near future.

The foreign exchange reserves are dwindling in the absence of new foreign inflows and a tight dollar supply was also weighing on local currency.

The local unit depreciated by 0.37% (Rs0.82) to reach 219.71 in the interbank market, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), down in value from the previous close of 218.89.

The dollar also strengthened in the open market as the rupee lost 0.50 to close at 226.20.

Business

Robust activity lets PSX climb above 115,000 level again.

Published

6 hours ago

Farwa

On Friday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) resumed its upward trend, crossing 115,000 points once more.

The PSX had strong action in the morning session, as the KSE-100 index increased by 1,000 points to 115,138.

The notoriously volatile PSX closed Thursday at 114,037 points, up 594 points.

DOLLAR DEPRECIES

Meanwhile, in the interbank market this morning, the US dollar fell 7 paisas to Rs278.65 against the Pakistani rupee.

Business

SBP will announce monetary policy on January 27.

Published

6 hours ago

Farwa

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will release its monetary policy on Monday.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the SBP will convene on the first day of the following week to make decisions on monetary policy.

The Monetary Policy decision will be announced by Governor SBP Jameel Ahmad at a news conference on the same day after the MPC meeting, according to an official release.

In December, the central bank reduced policy rates by 200 basis points (bps) to 13 percent.

“In November 2024, headline inflation fell to 4.9 percent year on year, meeting the MPC’s estimates. This decrease was mostly caused by the ongoing decline in food inflation and the phasing out of the impact of the gas tariff increase in November 2023,” SBP stated in an official release.

“However, the Committee noted that core inflation, at 9.7 percent, is proving to be sticky, while consumer and business inflation expectations remain volatile.” To that end, the Committee restated its previous assessment that inflation may remain volatile in the short term before stabilizing within the target range.

“At the same time, growth prospects have slightly improved, as evidenced by a recent increase in high-frequency indicators of economic activity.” Overall, the Committee concluded that its approach of gradual policy rate decreases is keeping inflationary and external account pressures under control while promoting long-term economic growth.

Business

Finance Minister Meets With World Leaders at World Economic Forum in Davos

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

During his attendance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has met with officials of organisations and leaders of many nations.
Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor, Muhammad Younas, met with Mohammad Aurangzeb.
On the fringes of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2025 Opening Banquet, there was an informal meeting.
Additionally, the Finance Minister met with Anwar Ibrahim, the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Both leaders discussed economic cooperation and bilateral ties.
Muhammad Aurangzeb also had a meeting with Dp World’s Rizwan Soomro and Yuvraj Narayan.
They talked about how to strengthen Pakistan’s logistics and infrastructure systems to support trade.
“The Pakistani government is committed to advancing joint projects and values partnerships in both business-to-business and business-to-government cooperation,” the finance minister added.