KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange closed lower on Tuesday as the KSE-100 index lost 778.95 points, or 0.44 per cent, to finish at 177,692.92, against the previous close of 178,471.87, as broad-based selling pressure dragged the benchmark deeper into negative territory.
Market participation remained sidelined due to fiscal year-end pressure, analysts said. The index touched an intraday high of 179,405.56 and a low of 177,674.37. The KSE-30 index shed 177.32 points to close at 53,022.89.
Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said PSX witnessed another directionless session. During the trading session, KSE-100 extended early gains and touched an intraday high of 179,406 before profit-taking erased most of the advance. The index briefly slipped into negative territory but recovered on selective buying in heavyweight sectors.
“Going forward, sentiment will likely stay headline-driven, with oil price movements, geopolitical developments, and flows into blue-chip names guiding short-term direction”, he said. Ready market turnover declined 5.24 per cent to 765.14 million shares from 807.47 million shares in the previous session. Traded value fell 2.02 per cent to Rs35.44 billion from Rs36.17 billion, while market capitalisation eased 0.20 per cent to Rs19.94 trillion from Rs19.98 trillion.
Market breadth was negative, with 146 stocks advancing, 308 declining and 39 unchanged.Among the top gainers, Pakistan Engineering Company Limited rose Rs50.97 to close at Rs945.75, while Tandlianwala Sugar Mills Limited added Rs46.31 to close at Rs534.01. On the downside, PIA Holding Company Limited shed Rs470.00 to close at Rs17,530.00 and Khairpur Sugar Mills Limited declined Rs112.78 to close at Rs2,297.36.
According to Topline Sales Desk, the local bourse witnessed a weak and volatile session as rollover-related pressure and fiscal year-end considerations weighed on investor sentiment. Overall participation remained cautious, with investors largely on the sidelines amid portfolio repositioning and profit-taking ahead of the fiscal year-end, resulting in a lacklustre close across the broader market.
On the index contribution front, index heavyweights UBL, BAHL, ENGROH, FFC, and BAFL emerged as the major laggards, collectively dragging the benchmark by 595 points. On the flipside, OGDC, MLCF, PPL, SNGP, and COLG provided some support, collectively contributing 217 points to the index.
K-Electric led the ready market turnover with 83.43 million shares, rising 22 paisas to close at Rs8.42, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 71.24 million shares, declining 1 paisa to close at Rs1.25. Other most-traded stocks included Sui South Gas and F Nat Equities, TPL Corp Ltd, Oilboy Energy, TPL Properties, Maple Leaf, Ghani Chemical and Pak Qatar Family.In the futures market, 318 contracts were traded, with 85 increasing in value, 226 declining and 7 unchanged.
