KARACHI: After taking a thrashing in the previous session, the PakistanStock Exchange (PSX) managed to recover some of its losses on Tuesday, withthe benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 600 points.
Global oil prices saw a recovery of around 4pc after falling around 30pc onMonday. It also helped the Asian markets take a breather after a tragicfirst session of the week.
On the economic front, the State Bank of Pakistan (PSX) is expected toannounce its monetary policy on March 17th. Pakistan’s current interestrate at 13.25pc is among the top 20 highest rates in the world. Argentinacurrently has the highest rate of 38pc, followed by Zimbabwe with 35pc.Three countries; Japan, Denmark and Switzerland, discourage savings byimplementing a negative interest rate.
Losing 145.26 points, the KSE-100 Index touched its intraday low at36,913.69 during the initial trading hours. However, refusing to stay down,the index then rebounded and gained 675.80 points to mark its intraday highat 37,734.75. It finally closed higher by 636.80 points at 37,695.75.
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Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index gained 448.91 points to settle at58,741.45, while the KSE All Share Index accumulated 309.07 points, endingat 26,184.13.
The overall trading volumes declined from 307.96 million in the previoussession to 274.48 million. Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF+2.54pc), Pak Petroleum Limited (PPL -5.58pc) and Fauji Cement CompanyLimited (FCCL -1.44pc) topped the volume chart, exchanging 27.88 million,23.62 million and 16.09 million shares, respectively.
