PSX opens lower on Monday as selling gripped the Pakistan Stock Exchange in early trade, with the benchmark KSE-100 index shedding over 800 points while investors waited for the State Bank’s monetary policy decision due later today.
At 9:50am, the benchmark index stood at 161,542.30 points, down 832.57 points, or 0.51 per cent, from the previous close. The early fall extended a run of weakness that has now lasted five straight weeks.
Why PSX opens lower ahead of the rate decision
The Monetary Policy Committee of the State Bank of Pakistan meets today to review the key policy rate. Analysts expect the central bank to increase the rate by 50 basis points to guard against prolonged inflationary and external shocks, as uncertainty still prevails.
Dunya News reports the current policy rate at 11.5 per cent, which would rise to 12 per cent if the expected increase goes through. A higher rate raises borrowing costs for firms and households, and it tends to pull money toward fixed-income savings and away from shares. That expectation alone was enough to push sellers to act early in the session.
Selling pressure hit nearly every major part of the market. Automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies, power generation and refineries all traded lower. Index-heavy stocks, including Hubco, OGDC, Mari Energies, Pakistan Petroleum, Habib Bank, Meezan Bank and National Bank, traded in the red.
A fifth straight week of falls
The morning drop sits on top of a weak run. During the previous week, the KSE-100 extended its losing streak to a fifth consecutive week, shedding 4,044.84 points, or 2.4 per cent, to close at 162,374.84 points.
Feature Pakistan reported that weekly fall in PSX sheds 4,045 points in a week. The drivers then were the same forces at work on Monday: surging Brent crude, a widening trade deficit and persistent geopolitical tensions, compounded by domestic economic uncertainty.
Global markets traded cautiously on Monday as well. Brent crude slipped 1.6 per cent to $114.88 a barrel after reports that Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Sunday as part of an effort to lower regional tensions in coordination with the United States. US crude fell 1.9 per cent to $101.29 a barrel. Brent had jumped 6.2 per cent last week to its highest weekly close since mid-2022, as Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked concerns about energy supplies.
What to watch next
The figures in this report are a morning snapshot, not the day’s close. Business Recorder flagged its own report as an intraday update, and later trading could narrow or widen the fall. Dunya News later reported the index down by over 1,000 points to 161,250 in early trading, which underlines how fast the picture moved during the morning.
The decision that matters most comes later today, when the Monetary Policy Committee announces its verdict on the policy rate. A rise of 50 basis points would confirm the cautious mood in the market. A decision to hold would surprise traders who have positioned for a hike. Either way, the announcement, plus corporate results due this week, will set the tone for the rest of the session.
For ordinary savers, the practical point is steady. A falling index does not change the value of bank deposits, and short-term market moves say little about the long-term worth of a company. The rate decision, by contrast, feeds straight into loan rates, savings returns and the cost of running a business.
Source reporting: Business Recorder, with the current policy rate figure from Dunya News.
How far did the KSE-100 fall in early trade?
At 9:50am on Monday, the KSE-100 stood at 161,542.30 points, down 832.57 points, or 0.51 per cent, with later reports putting the fall past 1,000 points.
What rate rise do analysts expect?
Analysts expect the State Bank to raise the policy rate by 50 basis points, which would lift it from 11.5 per cent to 12 per cent, according to Dunya News.
Why has the market fallen for five straight weeks?
Geopolitical tensions, surging oil prices, a widening trade deficit and caution ahead of the monetary policy decision have weighed on sentiment, with the index shedding 4,044.84 points last week alone.
Are these the final figures for the day?
No. These are morning intraday figures, and the close may differ once the monetary policy decision is announced and full-day trading ends.
