After a muted start, trading activity picked up at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 gaining over 500 points during the intra-day trading on Monday as investors await monetary policy decision due today.
At 11am, the benchmark index was hovering around 114,914.55 level, an increase of 515.86 points or 0.45%.
A mixed trend was observed in key sectors, with positivity in automobile assemblers, cement, chemical and power generation, while negative sentiments prevailed in oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refineries.
Index-heavy stocks, including MARI, OGDC, PSO and SSGC traded in the red.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is scheduled to meet today, to decide the policy rate.
In a key development, China rolled over a $2 billion loan to Pakistan last week, the adviser to the finance minister of Pakistan, Khurram Schehzad, told Reuters.
During the previous week, investor sentiment at the PSX remained positive.
The benchmark KSE-100 index rose by 1,147 points, or 1%, week-on-week, closing at 114,399 points compared to 113,250 points the previous week.
Internationally, Wall Street futures sank and the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc strengthened early on Monday as building deflationary pressures in China added to growth worries from a fading U.S. economy and an escalating global trade war.
US S&P 500 stock futures pointed 0.5% lower and Nasdaq futures sagged 0.6% as of 0137 GMT.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng eased 0.1%, as did an index of mainland Chinese blue chips.
Taiwan’s equity benchmark slipped 0.4%, although Japan’s Nikkei was 0.2% higher after flipping between small gains and losses.
Data on Sunday showed China’s consumer price index fell at the sharpest pace in 13 months in February, while producer price deflation extended to a 30th straight month.
Beijing pledged more stimulus to boost consumption and foster innovation in artificial intelligence at the start of the week-long National People’s Congress meetings that run until Tuesday.
This is an intra-day update
