KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a sharp decline on Wednesday as the KSE-100 index shed 1,465.09 points, or 0.87 per cent, to close at 167,451.14 against the previous session’s close of 168,916.22.
The index touched an intraday high of 169,687.29 and a low of 167,329.34 during the session. The market remained volatile and closed lower amid investor concerns over geopolitical uncertainty.
The KSE-30 index fell 447.66 points, or 0.89 per cent, to settle at 50,083.09.Ali Najib, deputy head of trading at Arif Habib Ltd, stated that the PSX witnessed another mixed session. The market initially opened on a strong note after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) confirmed the receipt of a $1.2 billion IMF tranche, providing some relief to investor sentiment. However, lingering political uncertainty kept confidence fragile, prompting profit-taking activity that eventually dragged the market into negative territory.
In addition, the MSCI has added HMB to its frontier index and removed pharma firm SEARL.“Going forward, US-Iran developments will remain a key market catalyst, with ongoing diplomatic engagement and backchannel talks keeping investors focused on geopolitical headlines,” he said.
Volumes contracted sharply on the ready market, with 684.9 million shares changing hands compared with 1,017.42 million in the previous session, a decline of 32.68 per cent. Traded value dropped 32.13 per cent to Rs21.74 billion from Rs32.03 billion, while market capitalisation fell 0.61 per cent to Rs18.57 trillion from Rs18.69 trillion.
Market breadth remained heavily negative, with 149 companies advancing against 298 declining and 36 finishing unchanged out of 483 traded on the ready market.Among the top gainers, Khairpur Sugar Mills Limited surged Rs108.22 to close at Rs1,190.43, while Service Industries Limited added Rs29.67 to end at Rs1,813.36. On the losing side, PIA Holding Company Limited declined Rs123.47 to close at Rs18,677.53, and Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited shed Rs66.59 to finish at Rs9,506.27.
Naveed Nadeem, senior equity trader at Topline Securities Limited, said the benchmark index remained under pressure throughout a volatile and range-bound trading session, as cautious investor sentiment prevailed amid the absence of tangible progress in ongoing negotiations and lingering uncertainty surrounding developments between the United States and Iran. Persistently elevated oil prices further dampened market confidence. During the session, the index experienced intraday fluctuations, touching an intraday low of 1,587 points.
Index-heavy stocks, including UBL, HBL, BAHL, LUCK and HUBC, remained under selling pressure, collectively dragging the index lower by 734 points.
Agha Steel Industries led the ready market turnover with 58.65 million shares, gaining 43 paisas to close at Rs8.7. Treet Battery Limited followed with 49.81 million shares traded, rising 92 paisas to Rs10.31. Other companies featuring prominently in turnover were Bunnys Limited, Cnergyico PK, Hascol Petrol, K-Electric Limited, TRG Pak Limited, PIA Holding Company, Trust Brokerage, and LSE Capital Limited.In the futures market, 59 companies recorded gains, 259 declined, and 3 remained unchanged out of 321 traded.
