PSX falls slightly as rate hike talk weighs

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) fell slightly in the outgoing week over persistent anxiety over a potential hike of 150-200 basis points in policy rate and unimpressive developments on the economic front. However, in a highly positive development, Pakistani rupee’s rapid recovery continued against the dollar, which gave a boost to the market’s mood and encouraged investors to buy attractive stocks in the hope of getting handsome returns. The benchmark KSE-100 index closed the week at 45,753.52, losing 260 points, or 0.6% week-on-week (WoW). At the beginning of the week, the index dropped nearly 150 points on a potential policy rate hike as it lost the previous week’s momentum over hopes of Saudi crown prince’s visit to Pakistan to discuss $25 billion in investment from Gulf countries under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) initiatives. The index extended losses on Tuesday as it fell by another 357 points despite the government’s crackdown on currency smugglers because the upcoming monetary policy announcement weighed on investors’ mind.