The surge follows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's hosting of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for an iftar dinner in Makkah, amid speculations that Riyadh may soon announce an investment of approximately $1 billion in Reko Diq, home to one of the world's largest copper and gold reserves.
KARACHI: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-April 8th, 2024) pakistan stock exchange continued to go up as the benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 0.90 percent during early trading hours on Monday.
As of the time of filing this report at 10:54 PST or 05:54 GMT, the KSE-100 Index had surpassed the historic 69,000 mark for the first time, reaching 69,029.19, marking a gain of 612.41 points.
The rise caused by the investor optimism amidst expectations of potential rate cuts by the central bank.
The surge follows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's hosting of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for an iftar dinner in Makkah, amid speculations that Riyadh may soon announce an investment of approximately $1 billion in Reko Diq, home to one of the world's largest copper and gold reserves.
The meeting between the Saudi Crown Prince, known as MBS, and Shehbaz Sharif could potentially pave the way for investments across various sectors, including mining, energy, and agriculture.
The investors are eagerly anticipating foreign investments to stimulate the economy, which has been severely impacted by soaring energy prices and interest rates, leading to unsustainable business costs. Progress in attracting foreign investments is anticipated to bolster the value of undervalued stocks, driving a surge in buying activity.
However, there are concerns regarding the likelihood of rate cuts by the State Bank of Pakistan, despite a consistent decline in inflation measured by the consumer price index (CPI) over the past three months, particularly a significant drop in March. This skepticism arises due to the impending rise in fuel prices and utility tariffs, which would sustain inflationary pressures, driven by IMF conditions as Islamabad seeks another funding package from the lender.
Besides it, the recent US data tempered expectations of potential rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, contributing to a rally in gold prices fueled by speculative buying.
