Lahore - Pakistan equities halted 3 consecutive sessions of decline as the index gained 123 points (or+0.3%), closing at 40,894 level.

However, Investors remained on the back foot as they awaited State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announcement of monetary policy, where a 100bps increase is expected by market participants. Furthermore on Nov 30th, 2018 foreign investors are expected to re-balance their portfolios in accordance with UBL, LUCK, MLCF and HCAR being removed from the MSCI’s Global Standard Index Pakistan.

The expectation of higher interest rates led investor interest into Commercial Banks, where gain was seen in FABL(+5%), UBL(+3.9%) and HBL(+2.7%).

Investor participation regressed today as traded volumes declined by 2% to 132mn, while traded value fell by 6% to US$48mn.

Hino Pak Motor Ltd (HINO) announced its 2QFY19 results, reporting LPS of Rs1.97 vs. EPS of Rs31.79 in the same period last year. Loss is due to a 7ppts YoY decline in gross profit margins, a 30% YoY decrease in sales and a 40x YoY rise in finance cost.