KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed sharply lower on Tuesday as the KSE-100 index fell 1,116.80 points, or 0.63 per cent, to settle at 177,083.22, against the previous close of 178,200.02, as broad-based selling gripped the market amid profit-taking.
The index touched an intraday high of 178,768.83 and a low of 177,043.10. The KSE-30 index declined 377.39 points to close at 52,836.31.Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said PSX witnessed a mixed session. The market opened on a positive note. However, gains were wiped out during the latter half of the session as investors opted to book profits before the close, resulting in a negative finish.
”Going forward, the market is likely to remain range-bound to positive as investors assess the ongoing corporate earnings season and macroeconomic developments. Lower fuel prices and easing inflation remain supportive, although profit-taking near higher levels may continue in the short term,” Najib said.
Ready market turnover fell 9.43 per cent to 711.27 million shares from 785.36 million shares in the previous session. Traded value declined 21.93 per cent to Rs25.87 billion from Rs33.14 billion, while market capitalisation slipped 0.61 per cent to Rs19.83 trillion from Rs19.95 trillion.
Market breadth was negative, with 161 stocks advancing against 295 declining and 39 unchanged. Among the top gainers, Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited rose Rs86.00 to close at Rs25,386.00, while Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited added Rs52.70 to close at Rs9,301.28. On the downside, Khyber Textile Mills Limited shed Rs116.09 to close at Rs2,041.10, and Hoechst Pakistan Limited declined Rs76.77 to close at Rs3,916.15.
According to Topline Sales Desk, PSX witnessed a highly volatile trading session, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index surrendering early gains amid broad-based profit-taking. After opening on a positive note, investor sentiment weakened during the latter half of the session as selling pressure intensified across major sectors, erasing intraday advances.
On the index contribution front, MEBL, PSO, KAPCO, POWER, and MTL collectively added 175 points to the benchmark index. Conversely, UBL, ENGROH, OGDC, LUCK, and PPL collectively erased 580 points amid selective profit-taking.
Pak Int. Bulk led ready market turnover with 89.71 million shares, declining 34 paisas to close at Rs16.74, followed by Trust Brokerage with 86.05 million shares, rising 8 paisas to close at Rs2.59. Other most-traded stocks were TPL Properties, Sui South Gas, Cnergyico PK, Wasl Mobility Mod, Pak Refinery, Hascol Petrol, Aisha Steel Mill and TPL REIT Fund I. In the futures market, 315 contracts were traded, with 55 increasing in value, 253 declining and 7 unchanged.
