Karachi: Pakistani equities fell further on Tuesday, as investors remained concerned about the possibility of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) being included into the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) index.
Today, MSCI will announce Pakistan’s reclassification from Emerging Markets (EM) to Frontier Markets (FM).
On November 21, the semi-annual index review, the prospective reclassification is scheduled to happen all at once. The MSCI has extended its consultation period with market participants until August 31, 2021.
A dearth of positive triggers, as well as the approaching Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on the policy rate later this month, forced investors to be cautious and resort to profit-taking.
The benchmark PSX-100 index began the day on a bullish note, but as the market became more unsettled, the index succumbed to selling pressure from the cement sector.
On Tuesday, the benchmark KSE-100 index fell 188.56 points, or 0.40 percent, to 46,729.96 points.
The benchmark PSX 100 index continued to fall, according to Topline Securities, due to fears about Pakistan’s reclassification from the MSCI Emerging Market Index to the MSCI Frontier Market Index, which is expected later this evening.
“Aggressive selling occurred in the cement sector as a result of increasing coal prices, and the sector closed down on an average of 1.45 percent for the day,” it stated.
