KSE-100 falls nearly 700 points on inflation outlook, rate hike fear

Losses continued to mount at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), as the benchmark KSE-100 Index dropped near the 45,500 level during trading on Thursday.

At 11:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 45,574.64, a decline of 669.91 points or 1.45%.

On Wednesday, KSE-100 Index fell for the fourth consecutive session, a slide driven by rising economic concerns among investors.

Across-the-board selling was witnessed on Thursday, with index-heavy sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, chemical, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refinery sectors trading in the red.

Selling was especially witnessed in the energy and banking sectors.

Negativity has persisted over the market in recent trading sessions, with investors concerned over rupee’s continued free fall against the dollar, skyrocketing fuel prices that will push inflation up, and growing fears of another rate hike.

Experts said market participants are expecting another policy rate hike by the central bank, in its bid to control rising inflation, in the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which is currently scheduled for September 14.