Pakistani stocks fell on Friday, following the three-week postponement of an interest rate review meeting by the central bank, which dealers said raised doubts regarding an imminent rate cut.
The State Bank of Pakistan said on Friday it was delaying the announcement of its monetary policy for the July-September quarter to Aug. 15 from July 25, but did not give any reason for the delay.
The central bank was widely expected to slash its key interest rate by 150 basis points in Saturday’s policy review, to 12.5 per cent, taking account of falling inflation and the need to help the economy bounce back from recession.
Dealers said the security regulator’s approval of the resumption of futures contracts in selected stocks a day earlier kept the index’s slide in check.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) approved 18 stocks for trading in the deliverable futures contract market from August.
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