KSE-100 jumps 1,270 points as traders bet the State Bank's 12% rate is the peak
Pakistan's benchmark KSE-100 index closed 1,269.55 points higher at 165,736.76 on Wednesday, a 0.77% gain, as traders read the State Bank of Pakistan's latest rate move as milder than they had feared and piled into banks, fertiliser and power stocks late in the session.
The State Bank raised its policy rate by 50 basis points to 12%, a smaller increase than the market had expected, according to equity trader Ahmed Sheraz of KASB KTrade. That supported banking stocks, he said, while cyclical sectors drew renewed buying interest and the index consolidated at higher levels. The KSE-100 touched an intra-day high of 166,100.34 and a low of 164,355.83.
Earnings did much of the work. Fauji Fertiliser led the advance after announcing a dividend of Rs18.5 per share with results broadly in line with expectations, Sheraz said, while National Bank followed with decent earnings and Hub Power supported the index on a Rs5-per-share payout. JS Global analyst Nawaz Ali said bullish activity ran for a third consecutive session, with National Bank's better-than-expected results triggering buying across the banking sector.
Volumes told the same story: 578 million shares changed hands against 402 million on Tuesday, worth Rs26 billion, with 269 of the 496 traded companies closing higher. Foreign investors were net sellers of Rs624 million, according to the National Clearing Company.
The rally's weak point is oil. Brent crude hovering around $115 a barrel remains a key concern alongside geopolitical uncertainty involving Iran, Israel and the US, Sheraz said. Ali said any positive development in the US-Iran situation that pulls crude prices lower could further improve investor confidence — a reminder that the index's climb rests partly on a risk that has not gone away.
