Discount rate cut hopes give Karachi stocks a lift

KARACHI: Stocks at the local equities market closed higher on Tuesday as investors remained optimistic about the monetary policy announcement on Friday, traders said.

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index ended 0.57 percent, or 88.35 points, higher at 15,648.29 – a four-year high -- on total volume of 140.79 million shares.

"The primary reason is the inflation numbers. People are speculating ahead of the monetary policy. Inflation is coming down so the possibility is high that discount rate will be lower," said a dealer.

"There is an improvement in global oil prices and improvement in local cement prices."

The central bank is expected to announce a monetary policy decision on October 5.

Pakistan's consumer price index (CPI) rose 8.79 percent in September from a year earlier, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

The year-on-year rate in August was 9.1 percent. On a month-on-month basis, the CPI increased by 0.79 percent from August, according to the bureau. (Reuters)