After making marginal gains in its initial hours of trading on Thursday, selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in the second half, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing the day lower by over 700 points.
The KSE-100 started the session positive, hitting an intra-day high of 123,417.87.
However, selling was witnessed in the latter hours, which pushed the index to an intra-day low of 122,142.43.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 122,046.46, down by 715.18 points or 0.58%.
“After two consecutive sessions of strong gains, the local bourse witnessed a round of profit-taking today, driven by fiscal year-end considerations and short-term portfolio rebalancing,” brokerage house Topline Securities said.
On the contribution front, ENGROH, NATF, PPL, and TGL provided the biggest support, collectively adding 228 points to the index. Meanwhile, pressure from BAHL, LUCK, HBL, PSEL, and SYS dragged the index down by a combined 407 points, Topline said.
On Wednesday, the PSX experienced a mixed trading session as investor confidence improved further due to easing tensions in the Middle East. Key indices recorded gains for a second straight day, while market activity stayed healthy.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index added 515 points, or 0.42%, to settle at 122,761.64 points.
Internationally, Asian stocks stuttered on Thursday, while oil prices stabilised and the euro was perched at a 3-1/2-year high as investors weighed geopolitical, economic and fiscal uncertainties as they braced for US President Donald Trump’s deadline on tariffs.
Markets have been soothed by a ceasefire between Israel and Iran that appeared to be holding, reducing the risks of disruptions to the global oil trade and underpinning sentiment.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed in early trading, as the rally in Wall Street took a breather overnight. Tokyo’s Nikkei rose 0.9% to a four-month high.
The US dollar selling kicked up a notch after a media report said Trump has toyed with the idea of selecting and announcing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s replacement by September or October in a bid to undermine his position.
That pushed the euro to its strongest level since November 2021. It last fetched $1.6805. The Swiss franc firmed to a decade-high while the Japanese yen strengthened 0.35% to 144.70 per dollar.
Trump has repeatedly criticised Powell for not cutting interest rates and has floated the idea of firing him or naming a successor soon, denting investor confidence in U.S. assets and undermining the central bank’s independence.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee posted marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.02% during trading in the interbank market on Thursday. At close, the local currency settled at 283.67, a gain of Re0.05 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 758.54 million from 749.80 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares rose to Rs29.93 billion from Rs28.03 billion in the previous session.
Pak Int.Bulk was the volume leader with 37.50 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 33.28 million shares, and Pervez Ahmed Co with 32.96 million shares.
Shares of 473 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 200 registered an increase, 237 recorded a fall, while 36 remained unchanged.
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