KSE-100 closes over 500 points lower as late-session selling erases intra-day gains

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a negative session on Tuesday as its benchmark KSE-100 closed the day lower by 534 points, losing the gain of nearly 1,000 points the index had made during intra-day trading.

Gaining positivity in line with the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) decision to cut the policy rate by 100 basis points to 11%, the KSE-100 opened the Tuesday’s session with a buying spree, hitting an intra-day high of 115,093.11.

However, selling in the second half erased all the gains and pushed the index into the negative territory.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 113,568.51, down by 533.73 points or 0.47%.

“The reversal in market trajectory was primarily driven by renewed geopolitical tensions between Pakistan and India, which unsettled investors and overshadowed the central bank’s dovish stance,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

Key heavyweight stocks that provided upward support included PPL, OGDC, PSO, UBL, and SYS, which cumulatively contributed +275 points to the index. On the other hand, notable laggards such as LUCK, HMB, HUBC, EFERT, and BAHL collectively shaved -427 points, weighing heavily on overall performance, it added.

On Monday, the PSX benchmark KSE-100 Index closed flat at 114,102.24, after recovering from the over 1,000-point loss it had incurred during trading.

Meanwhile, global stocks held tight ranges on Tuesday, and the dollar clawed back some of its recent losses against Asian counterparts as investors revived concerns about US tariffs and their impact on economic growth.

Those worries, coupled with pledges from key oil producers to boost supply, also kept crude prices languishing near four-year lows.

The focus in Asia has shifted to currencies following the Taiwan dollar’s surge in recent sessions, which has stoked speculation that a revaluation of regional foreign exchange was on the cards to win U.S. trade concessions.

Its rally suggested a big unwinding is underway and shines a light on one economy among many where years of big trade surpluses have built up large long dollar positions at exporters and insurers that are now under question and on edge.

The heat turned to Hong Kong on Tuesday, where the de facto central bank bought $7.8 billion to stop the local currency from strengthening and breaking its peg to the greenback.

In stocks, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.2% lower, with Japan closed for a holiday. Taiwan stocks slipped 0.3%.

Chinese markets returned from a holiday with the blue-chip index opening slightly higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.2%.

Investor attention has been on the possibility of easing trade tensions between the US and China after Beijing last week said it was evaluating an offer from Washington to hold talks over tariffs.

But with few details, uncertainty has reigned, with investors left trying to make sense of headlines coming out of the White House.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee posted a marginal decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.05% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the local currency settled at 281.37, a loss of Re0.15 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 420.55 million from 399.54 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares rose to Rs23.70 billion from Rs19.85 billion in the previous session.

Sui South Gas was the volume leader with 54.32 million shares, followed by K-Electric Ltd with 42.26 million shares, and Dewan Cement with 26.19 million shares.

Shares of 453 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 188 registered an increase, 218 recorded a fall, while 47 remained unchanged.