The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another volatile session on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 1,200 points as profit-taking and weak investor sentiment dragged the market lower.
Trading initiated on a positive note, pushing the index to an intra-day high of 166,864.89.
However, the market was unable to maintain the momentum as investors resorted to profit-taking in the later part of the session, dragging the KSE-100 to an intra-day low of 164,261.65.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 164,444.71, a decrease of 1,241.67 points or 0.75%.
On the corporate front, Shan A. Ashary, director of KES Power Limited, denied reports claiming Hasan Chishty signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Saudi investor to sell his stake in the company, terming the claims “misleading and factually incorrect“.
On Wednesday, PSX ended on a mixed note as investors opted for profit-taking following a strong rally in the previous session, even as trading volumes surged to exceptional levels. The KSE-100 Index gained 210.36 points, or 0.13%, to settle at 165,686.38 points.
Internationally, stocks rose across most of Asia on Thursday, with the chip sector buoyant following a strong rally among US peers overnight.
A robust start to the earnings season on Wall Street also helped lift the mood. Simmering trade frictions between Beijing and Washington increased the appeal of safe havens like gold – which renewed a record high – and the Japanese yen, while undercutting the dollar.
Japan’s Nikkei advanced 0.8%, with chip- and artificial intelligence-related shares boosting the index.
Taiwanese shares climbed 1.4%, South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 1.8% and Australia’s equity benchmark added 1.1%, with all three touching lifetime highs.
Hong Kong and mainland Chinese shares were also higher after an initial wobble, despite the drag from trade tensions.
US stock futures were overall flat following a 0.4% gain for the S&P 500 and a 0.6% rise for the tech-heavy Nasdaq overnight.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee posted marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the local currency settled at 281.11, up by Re0.01 against the US dollar.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 3,078 million from 1,528 million recorded in the previous close. The value of shares declined to Rs50.61 billion from Rs68.60 billion in the previous session.
K-Electric Ltd was the volume leader with 1,022.41 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 953.71 million shares, and Telecard Limited with 99.87 million shares.
Shares of 484 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 174 registered an increase, 269 recorded a fall, and 41 remained unchanged.
