KARACHI: The KSE-100 index fell 1,174.68 points, or 0.69 per cent, to close at 169,497.36 on Monday, down from the previous session’s close of 170,672.04. The index touched an intraday high of 171,306.62 and a low of 169,268.33. The market witnessed a volatile session ahead of monetary policy statement.
Ali Najib, deputy head of trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said the PSX had a range-bound day and lost a key psychological level of 170k. The market remained volatile, oscillating in both directions, but ultimately settled in the red ahead of the monetary policy announcement.
On the macro front, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) raised the policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 11.5 per cent, citing rising inflationary risks driven by supply-side pressures amid geopolitical tensions.
“Going forward, the market may witness near-term pressure following the unexpected 100bps rate hike by the State Bank of Pakistan. However, any downside could present a buying opportunity, as valuations remain attractive, with medium-term fundamentals still supportive,” said Najib.
The KSE-30 index lost 400.47 points, or 0.77 per cent, to settle at 51,409.14.Volumes in the ready market declined sharply to 780.23 million shares from 1.19 billion in the preceding session, a drop of 34.55 per cent. Traded value fell 15.77 per cent to Rs33.42 billion against Rs39.68 billion previously. Market capitalisation eased 0.69 per cent to Rs18.75 trillion from Rs18.88 trillion.
Of the 483 companies traded in the ready market, 217 advanced, 229 declined and 37 remained unchanged.The top gainer was The Thal Industries Corporation Limited, which rose Rs81.2 to close at Rs893.24, followed by Indus Motor Company Limited, which added Rs57.67 to end at Rs2,067.01. On the losing side, Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited fell Rs141.50 to Rs26,256.50, while PIA Holding Company Limited-B declined Rs134.88 to Rs17,764.
Naveed Nadeem, senior equity trader at Topline Securities Limited, said the index decreased in a volatile trading session, as investor sentiment remained cautious ahead of the policy rate decision.
Heavyweight stocks, including UBL, LUCK, OGDC, NBP and PPL, faced persistent selling pressure, cumulatively weighing down the index by 671 points.Bank of Punjab led turnover with 126.62 million shares, declining 122 paisas to Rs34.95. Yousuf Weaving Mills followed with 53.1 million shares, gaining 100 paisas to Rs8.93. The remaining eight most-traded stocks were F Nat Equities, TPL Properties, Unity Foods Limited, Cnergyico PK, Hascol Petroleum, Nishat ChunPower, K-Electric Limited and Clover Pakistan.In the futures market, 330 contracts were traded, with 106 recording gains, 217 recording losses and 7 remaining unchanged.
