Pakistan’s benchmark stock exchange, KSE-100, remained under pressure, closing in the red at 188,202.85 points, a 0.2 per cent fall from the previous close of 188,587.66 points.

The index touched an intraday high of 189,521.32 points in early trading before briefly slipping to 187,538.23. Trading activity remained moderate, with volumes at 341.60 million shares at a market value of Rs40.22 billion.

At the midday mark, the index had stood at 188,001.04 points, down 586.62 points.

There was heightened volatility on account of yesterday’s State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announcement to maintain the key policy rate of 10.5pc.

Industry leaders and traders alike were surprised by this announcement, resulting in the subdued performance of the exchange so far today.

Arif Habib Limited noted that they had anticipated that the SBP was likely to deliver a 75 basis points cut during the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), potentially taking the policy rate to 9.75pc, signalling a long-awaited return to single-digit territory.

Echoing a similar sentiment, business leader, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Atif Ikram Sheikh, stated that the business community had categorically demanded a substantive reduction of 350 basis points to bring the policy rate down to 7pc to kickstart the economy immediately, as the industry is currently battling an existential crisis due to exorbitant energy tariffs and high borrowing costs.

Commercial banks remained relatively immune from the dip, with all listed banks aside from the Askari Bank, MCB Bank Ltd, Samba Bank, and United Bank trading in the green.