KARACHI – Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) started the week with another milestone as flagship index KSE-100 surpassed 116,000 mark amid hopes of potential interest rate cut by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) today. At noon, KSE-100 Index surged by 2,220.4 points, or 1.94%, reaching an intraday peak of 116,522.2, continuing its upward trajectory from last week’s record performance. The market’s positive momentum is largely fueled by anticipation of the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, where analysts expect a rate cut ranging from 200 to 500 basis points. Market pundits remain hopeful of policy rate cut amid improving ecocmic indicators while inflation rate fell to 4.9%, creating a real interest rate of 10% and opening the door for potential monetary easing. Meanwhile, foreign inflows remain strong, with remittances contributing to stable foreign reserves of $16.6 billion as of December 6, 2024. The reserves held by the SBP increased to $12.051 billion, the highest level since March 2022. Meanwhile, the Current Account Deficit (CAD) narrowed significantly by 79% year-on-year to $217 million in the first two months of FY2025, supported by robust remittances and stable export earnings. The government’s economic recovery strategy is also evident in the automobile sector, which saw a 52% increase in sales year-on-year in November. Additionally, exports are projected to reach $33 billion by the end of FY2025, with remittances expected to climb to $33.5 billion. On the other hand, Pakistan’s banking sector also shows positive growth as well, with the advance-to-deposit ratio (ADR) rising to 47.8% in November, up from 44.3% in October. More from this category Copyright ©2024. Reproduction of this website's content without express written permission from 'Daily Pakistan' is strictly prohibited.