Stocks plunge by 744 points on interest rate hike

Stocks plunge by 744 points on interest rate hike

KARACHI: Stocks plunged 744 points on Monday while reacting to an unexpected hike in interest rate by the central bank.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 45,745 points as against last Friday’s closing of 46,489 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that bears ruled over the bulls today as investors were unable to digest the higher than expected interest rate increase.

The beginning of roll-over week witnessed bearish momentum despite the long-awaited news of Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) having reached a staff-level agreement.

Firstly, only cyclical stocks came under the radar and investors started off-loading positions.

Later on, a bloodbath session was witnessed as selling came across the board. On the institutional front, a cautious stance was noted due to the concerns of foreign selling spree.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (-184 points), Technology (-153 points), E&P (-90 points), Ferilizer (-70 points) and Textile Composite (-36 points).

Volumes decreased from 304.2 million shares to 261.9 million shares (-13.9 per cent DoD). Traded value also decreased by 8.8 per cent to reach US$ 62.6 million as against US$ 68.6 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TRG, BYCO, TPLP, TREET and GTECH.