Business desk
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) once again plunged into the red zone as the latest round of rupee depreciation pushed the benchmark index down by over 150 points on Monday.
The rupee dropped to 237.91 after losing Rs1.07 (or 0.45%) in the interbank market as it inches closer to an all-time low of 239.94 hit on July 28. The continuous depreciation prompted renewed stock selling as investors reacted with panic to the latest developments. As a result, the KSE-100 index, after a brief upward opening, dropped to an intra-day low of 41,504.64 points. The benchmark KSE-100 index fell over 150 points in immediate reaction to the rupee’s fall, stockbrokers said. The rupee depreciation is badly impacting the earnings of companies listed at the PSX. At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 41,520.59 points with a decrease of 158.90 points or 0.38%. A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that the PSX closed down on the day having failed to regain the 42,000 level after a bullish opening. “Big week for global rates with the US Federal Reserve expected to hike rates by at least 75 basis points sentiments remained in check,” the brokerage house stated.
