KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended Thursday’s session in the red as selling pressure in heavyweight stocks wiped out early gains, with the benchmark KSE-100 index closing 1,710.04 points, or 0.95 percent, lower at 177,373.76.
The index had opened on a positive note and climbed to an intraday high of 180,310.44, but buying faded and a sharp sell-off set in around midday. A brief recovery in the afternoon did not last, and renewed selling late in the session pushed the index to a low of 177,271.60 before the close. The KSE-100 had ended Wednesday at 179,083.80, making Thursday’s fall a single-day loss of close to one percent for the benchmark.
Banks and energy stocks under pressure
Selling was concentrated in commercial banks, cement, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies and power generation. Index-heavy names including HUBCO, OGDC, PPL, PSO, HBL, MCB, Meezan Bank and UBL traded in the red during the session.
By midday, around 164.5 million shares worth about Rs15.2 billion had changed hands in index companies. Market watchers said investors appeared to be booking profits after the recent strong run, which had pushed the index close to the 180,000 mark.
Global factors also weighed on sentiment. US stock futures slipped after a sharp after-hours fall in shares of chipmaker Nvidia, while markets were also adjusting expectations ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on December 9.
Still higher for the month
Despite Thursday’s decline, the KSE-100 remains higher on a weekly and monthly basis. The previous session had also ended slightly lower, with the index shedding 251.44 points on Wednesday.
The market has drawn support in recent weeks from improving economic indicators. Workers’ remittances rose to $3.9 billion in October, while the government has continued to cut petroleum prices and secured fresh financing from development partners, including a $500 million disaster financing package from the Asian Development Bank.
The decline came on the opening day of the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum in Islamabad, where listed state energy companies including OGDCL, the forum’s founding partner, and Pakistan Petroleum Limited are among the participants showcasing projects to international investors.
Thursday’s fall marks the second straight losing session for the benchmark index. Trading resumes on Friday, the final session of the week, when investors will be watching whether the index can hold above the 177,000 level after two days of profit-taking. NEN Agency will continue to track market movements and the rupee’s performance in the interbank market.
Featured image: Photo: Khigrapher / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
