The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index closed marginally lower on Thursday after witnessing range-bound trading, as investors remained cautious during the rollover week.
At close, the index settled at 147,343.50, a marginal decrease of 150.53 points or 0.10%.
Support from SAZEW, LUCK, and UBL added a combined 206 points to the index. However, this was outweighed by declines in HBL, FFC, BAHL, FABL, and SYS, which collectively dragged the benchmark down by 477 points, brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
“Investor’s sentiment stayed cautious as eyes remained fixed on flood developments in the upper provinces. While current water flow remains under control, fears linger that any further surge could threaten key crop-producing regions, jeopardising food supplies,” Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said in a statement.
“The finance minister’s projection of August inflation in the 4–5% range flag precaution, but his warning that flood-related damages may strain fiscal balances and disrupt food chains kept bulls on the sidelines.”
On Wednesday, PSX extended its losing streak for a third consecutive session, as investors grappled with rollover pressures, a weak economic outlook, and a national flood alert. The KSE-100 Index tumbled 941.03 points, or 0.63%, to close at 147,494.03.
Globally, Asian stocks wobbled on Thursday as blowout earnings from artificial intelligence bellwether Nvidia were offset by worries over the outlook for its China business, while the dollar remained shaky as investors bet on a near-term rate cut.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan swung between gains and losses, and was last down 0.2%, as US equity futures were dragged lower by after-hours decline in shares of the chip designer, which has become the world’s most valuable company.
Following a two-day string of gains that has pushed US markets to a fresh record, S&P 500 e-mini futures fell 0.2% and Nasdaq futures tumbled 0.4% after Nvidia’s results.
Investor concerns about Nvidia centred on its China business, which hung in the balance, caught up in the trade war between Washington and Beijing.
Japanese stocks fluctuated between gains and losses after Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday that Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa cancelled a planned visit to the United States, where he was expected to iron out details of the trade deal agreed last month.
The Nikkei 225 was last up 0.4%.
Korean stocks advanced 0.3% after the Bank of Korea kept rates on hold at 2.5%, as widely expected by economists.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered marginal improvement, appreciating 0.01% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the rupee settled at 281.80, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback. This was rupee’s 15th successive gain against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 935.47 million from 856.66 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares rose to Rs33.51 billion from Rs29.29 billion in the previous session.
Pace (Pak) Ltd was the volume leader with 71.48 million shares, followed by Bank Makramah with 66.00 million shares, and Pak Elektron with 51.19 million shares.
Shares of 474 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 238 registered an increase, 201 recorded a fall, while 35 remained unchanged.
