KARACHI: Pakistani stocks closed higher on Wednesday as investors remained optimistic that more money will flow into the stock market after a monetary policy announcement scheduled for Friday, traders said.

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index ended 0.41 per cent, or 63.92 points, higher at 15,712.21 – a four-year high – on total volume of 107.64 million shares.

“It was a historic day at Karachi bourse today. After a gap of more than four and a half years the benchmark KSE index closed at an all time high level of 15712.21,” said Samar Iqbal at Topline Securities.

“Investors believe that further decline in the interest rate in the upcoming monetary policy will mean flows of money to the stock market.”

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

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

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

In the currency market, the Pakistani rupee ended weaker at 95.16/95.21 to the dollar compared to Monday’s close of 94.90/94.95.

Overnight rates in the money market ended at 7.40 per cent compared to Tuesday’s 7.50 per cent.