Bulls continued to maintain their control over the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as shares climbed over 1,200 points on Monday in intraday trade as investors expected a dip in the inflation reading for the month of November.
The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 1,248.84 points, or 1.23 per cent, to stand at 102,606.16 points from the previous close of 101,357.32 points at 11:06am.
Yousuf M. Farooq, director research at Chase Securities, noted that the market was up again due to investors’ anticipating inflationary pressure to ease below 6pc for November, with some even projecting it to dip below 5pc.
“Lower inflation is expected to pave the way for reduced interest rates, and we now foresee rates falling to single digits within the next year,” he explained. “This shift could improve valuations across the stock market.”
“Encouragingly, some sectors, such as autos, are already experiencing growth in sales, with the latest auto financing data indicating that declining rates are driving increased demand,” he said.
Automobile sales surged 27pc month-on-month and 112pc year-on-year in October.
Farooq advised retail investors to “stay focused on long-term compounding by investing small, consistent amounts each month according to their risk tolerance, rather than reacting to short-term market forecasts”.
Awais Ashraf, director research at AKD Securities, said, “Optimism about the implementation of structural reforms, coupled with the stabilisation of macroeconomic indicators, has boosted investor interest in government-owned companies.”
Additionally, he noted that there were expectations of a rate cut in the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, driven by projections of inflation falling below 5pc for November, which are likely to keep equities in focus.
More to follow
