Stocks stay flat after MSCI index review
Stocks saw consolidation on Wednesday on the decision by MSCI — a provider of global indices for passive investments — to reduce the weight of Pakistani shares in its frontier market’s benchmark a day ago. Topline Securities Ltd said the session began on a positive note but succumbed to the selling headwinds in the backdrop of the unexpected outcome of the MSCI review, which will lead to a reduction of Pakistan’s weight in its frontier index by 24 basis points against market expectations. The stock market saw some excitement when Bloomberg News reported that the ongoing review of the Stand-by Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be over within this week. The news report regenerated buying momentum and caused the index of representative stocks to close on a flat note. As a result, the KSE-100 index closed at 56,680.07 points after gaining 14.14 points or 0.02 per cent from the preceding session.