KARACHI: The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) fell 831.13 points, or 0.49 per cent, on Wednesday to close at 170,190.64, down from the previous close of 171,021.77.
The market remained negative amid no concrete development on the peace agreement between the US and Iran. The investors remained sidelined. The index touched an intraday high of 171,624.45 and a low of 169,790.34 during the session. The KSE-30 index lost 241.33 points to settle at 50,893.03.
Ali Najib, deputy head of trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said the PSX witnessed a mixed session. Investor sentiment remained cautious as the lack of meaningful progress on the US-Iran diplomatic front kept market momentum fragile. With no clear direction emerging regarding a potential peace deal, investors largely stayed on the sidelines, resulting in a range-bound yet negative trading session.
“Going forward, hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough continue to support sentiment, uncertainty surrounding a durable agreement is likely to keep market volatility elevated in the near term,” he said.
Ready market volumes edged up to 551.95 million shares, a rise of 0.21 per cent over the prior session, while traded value fell 13.43 per cent to Rs23.76 billion. Market capitalisation slipped 0.4 per cent to Rs18.86 trillion.
Market breadth was decidedly negative, with 183 shares advancing, 267 declining and 41 closing unchanged out of the total 491.PIA Holding Company led the gainers, rising Rs376 to close at Rs17,988, followed by The Thal Industries Corporation, which added Rs90.52 to end at Rs1,022.24. On the losing side, Khairpur Sugar Mills shed Rs240.51 to settle at Rs2,164.61, while Unilever Pakistan Foods fell Rs137.97 to close at Rs25,862.03.
Naveed Nadeem, senior equity trader at Topline Securities Limited, said the decline was largely driven by profit-taking and cautious investor sentiment amid a lack of fresh positive triggers. Ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, particularly the absence of a conclusive US-Iran peace agreement and its impact on global oil prices, further dampened market confidence.
On the index contribution front, heavyweight scrips bore the brunt of the selling, with LUCK, UBL, MEBL, ENGROH and HUBC collectively dragging the benchmark lower by approximately 343 points.
Treet Battery led the volumes chart with 46.64 million shares as it eased three paisas to Rs10.79, followed by Dewan Cement with 33.76 million shares as it gained 40 paisas to Rs12.2. Other actively traded stocks included Sitara Petroleum, Beco Steel Ltd, PTCL, TPL Corp Ltd, Cnergyico PK, WorldCall Telecom, K-Electric Ltd and Mahaana Islamic.
In the futures market, 310 companies were traded, of which 67 advanced, 241 declined and 2 closed unchanged.
