Most emerging market stocks started the week lower after disappointing China economic data, while Pakistani equities traded at record highs and investors assessed the fallout of a revised budget in Kenya.
China stocks ended flat on Monday and Hong Kong equities logged their biggest one-day drop after the economy grew much slower than expected in the second quarter, prompting downward revisions for annual growth by brokerages J.P.Morgan and Goldman Sachs.
Attention was also on the once-in-five-years ‘Third Plenum’, due to end on Thursday, where markets hope for some efforts to manage China’s vast property crisis, boost domestic consumption and revitalize the private sector.
“It remains the case that China is taking pragmatic steps to address the problems it can fix, but at nothing like the pace foreign investors or net commodity exporters wish to see,” said Hasnain Malik, head of equity research at Tellimer Research.
MSCI’s index tracking bourses in developing economies slipped 0.2 percent, while an index tracking currencies was flat. Traders assessed political developments in the US and the implications of a second Donald Trump presidency.
In South Asia, Pakistan’s benchmark index rose 1.7 percent to hit a record high after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the country reached a staff level agreement (SLA) for a $7 billion, 37-month loan program.
The index has soared 30 percent this year and has almost doubled since Pakistan signed its last SLA for the $3 billion standby arrangement.
India’s main stock indexes also traded at record highs. Quarterly earnings were in focus along with the new government’s annual budget expected on July 23, where a private lender expects the country to cut its current year’s gross market borrowings after a better-than-estimated surplus transfer from the central bank.
Meanwhile, yield on Kenyan sovereign bonds slipped between 5 and 13 basis points (bps) after the government said it plans to cut annual spending by 1.9 percent and widen the fiscal deficit to 3.6 percent of GDP, weeks after it was forced to roll back tax hikes due to mass protests.
Most currencies in eastern and central Europe were tepid against the euro. The forint inched up 0.2 percent ahead of remarks on monetary policy from the Hungary’s deputy central bank governor.
Elsewhere, the shekel inched up 0.1 percent against the dollar ahead of June inflation data and against the backdrop of talks of a Gaza ceasefire, while Rwanda’s franc was flat against the euro as elections were underway.
Pakistan equities trade at record highs as weak China data dents investor mood
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Pakistan equities trade at record highs as weak China data dents investor mood
- Pakistan’s benchmark index rose 1.7 percent to hit a record high after Islamabad reached an agreement for $7 billion loan with the IMF
- The index has soared 30 percent this year and has almost doubled since Pakistan signed its last deal for $3 billion standby arrangement
Pakistan reports decline in polio cases in 2025
- Cases drop to 30 from 74 in 2024, with no new infections recorded since September
- Authorities plan intensified targeted drives in 2026 to halt remaining transmission
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported a sharp decline in polio cases in 2025, with infections falling to 30 from 74 a year earlier, as intensified vaccination campaigns and improved surveillance helped curb the spread of the virus, health authorities said on Wednesday.
No new polio cases have been recorded anywhere in the country since September, said a statement, as Pakistan carried out six polio campaigns, including five nationwide drives, trying to reach children in high-risk areas and improve monitoring of virus circulation.
Despite the decline, the authorities cautioned that poliovirus continues to circulate in some districts, requiring sustained vigilance to prevent a resurgence.
“Targeted interventions, robust community engagement, and ongoing vaccination efforts remain essential to reach every missed child and prevent any resurgence,” the official statement said.
“Frontline health workers, security personnel, and local authorities continue to work in close coordination to maintain high immunity levels and ensure that Pakistan remains on course toward becoming polio-free,” it added.
The most recent nationwide campaign, conducted from Dec. 15 to 21, achieved more than 98 percent coverage across the country, including all four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and the capital, Islamabad.
Authorities reported an 18 percent reduction in the number of missed children compared with the previous round, with notable improvements in access and operations in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a longstanding challenge area.
Pakistan’s polio eradication drive relies on close coordination between health workers, security personnel and local authorities, amid ongoing resistance in some communities and access constraints in remote or insecure regions.
Officials said district-specific interventions, including improved microplanning, better deployment of vaccination teams and enhanced community outreach, were being used to address remaining gaps, particularly in parts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The statement said Pakistan plans to intensify targeted efforts in 2026 to interrupt the remaining transmission chains and move closer to eliminating the disease.
