Rate hike fears keep market on a slippery slope with KSE-100 Index down over 1,200 points

Thursday was the fifth consecutive day of losses

KARACHI (Web Desk) – With the rupee witnessing a freefall and more interest hikes imminent amid unbridled inflation, the KSE-100 Index at one stage shed around 1,750 points during Thursday’s session as the market continued with the huge losses for fifth consecutive day.

By around 2:55pm, the benchmark index was down 1,747.63 points, or 3.78 per cent, with the economic uncertainty hitting the Pakistan Stock Exchange hard.

During the process, the market at first fell below the 45,000 mark and then the 44,000 level. However, the market was able to recover some of the losses and closed the session at 45,081.01 against the previous day’s level of 46,244.55.

By the time the session ended, the KSE-100 Index vacillated between a low of 44,459.62 and high of 46,358.01 as it suffered a net loss of 1.242.14 points, or 2.69pc.

The selling pressure was witnessed across-the-board – from automobile assemblers and commercial banks to oil and gas exploration as well as marketing companies. But it remained more visible in the case of entities related to energy and banking.

It is a combination of depreciation of rupee and the fear of another rate hike thanks to the skyrocketing fuel prices which will continue fuelling inflation creating panic among investors who had earlier boosted the market by over 8,00 points just before and after the deal reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

And the rupee is nosediving thanks to the condition set by the IMF as Pakistan needs to allow the market to determine the exchange rate. There can’t be any intervention to arrest the slide.

Read more: IMF condition dragging Pakistan rupee down the slope with no stop in sight

Hence, it is not a surprise that Pakistan is witnessing its currency reaching a new historic low in official exchange rate against the US dollar during the past several days.

The trend has far-reaching consequences in the shape of expensive imports, further rise in inflation and cost of doing business, and higher food prices to say the least.

Moreover, the rate hikes are also binding on Pakistan with monetary tightening prescribed by the IMF as the cure, which is behind the economic paralysis being experienced in Pakistan.

Read more: High interest rates to stay with monetary tightening written as sole cure

Thus, the IMF guidelines are not only responsible for the igniting inflation to crush the people and the businesses but also paralysing the economy through high interest rates which are suggested as the solution.