KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) fell on Friday in a volatile session. Geopolitical unrest with tensions on the Afghan border caused the benchmark KSE-100 Index to drop 831 points.
The KSE-100 fell by 830.92 points or 0.49 per cent to 168,062.17 points from 168,893.09 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 169,379.97 points, while the lowest was 165,811.88 points.
Ali Najib, deputy head of trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said the PSX witnessed a range-bound yet volatile session. The market opened on a negative note amid escalating tensions on the western border following reported air strikes by Pakistan’s security forces on militant strongholds inside Afghanistan.
The heightened geopolitical situation weighed on investor sentiment, triggering broad-based selling pressure. At one stage during the session, the KSE-100 index declined by more than 3,000 points before partially recovering.
Major laggards of the session included UBL, FFC, OGDC, PPL, MCB, MARI, SYS, HBL, ATRL, and NBP, which collectively eroded 885 points from the index.
“Going forward, developments on the western border are likely to play a pivotal role in shaping market direction. Any further escalation may continue to weigh on investor sentiment, while signs of stability or de-escalation could help restore confidence and support a recovery in equities,” said Ali Najib.
The KSE-30 index decreased by 400.92 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 51,322.39 points from 51,723.3 points.
Traded shares dropped by 156 million shares to 536.241 million shares from 692.402 million shares. The trading value decreased to Rs25.54 billion from Rs35.804 billion. Market capitalisation narrowed to Rs18.93 trillion against Rs19.019 trillion. Of the 472 companies active in the session, 161 closed in green, 257 in red, and 54 remained unchanged.
The highest increase was recorded in PIA Holding Company Limited B, which rose by Rs947.34 to Rs17,444.94 per share, followed by Nestle Pakistan Limited, which increased by Rs95.89 to Rs7,998.89 per share. A significant decline was noted in Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which fell by Rs321.77 to Rs25,255 per share. Sapphire Fibres Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs95.93 to Rs1,054.01 per share.
Nabeel Haroon, vice president international equity sales at Topline Securities, said the KSE-100 Index opened on a negative note and declined. This negativity can be attributed to regional tension with Afghanistan, where Pakistan targeted a key military installation of the Taliban regime in Kabul. Some recovery was observed later during the day, as no retaliatory strikes were carried out by Afghanistan side in response.
The top negative contribution to the index came from UBL, FFC, OGDC, PPL & MCB, as they cumulatively contributed -658 points to the index. Traded value-wise NBP (Rs1.36 billion), MCB (Rs1.12 billion), PPL (Rs1 billion), BOP (Rs969 million) and BAFL (Rs905 million) dominated the trading activity.
Unity Foods Ltd remained the volume leader with 50.304 million shares, which closed lower by Rs1.18 to Rs10.67 per share. F Nat Equities with 36.245 million shares, followed it, which closed higher by 2 paisas to Rs1.54 per share.
Other significant turnover stocks included BO Punjab, WorldCall Telecom, Nishat ChunPower, Dost Steels Ltd, Nishat Power, Telecard Limited, Media Times Ltd and K-Electric Ltd. In the futures market, 343 companies recorded trading, with 90 increasing, 252 decreasing and one remaining unchanged.
