KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained volatile throughout the past week ended on March 27, 2025, closing in negative territory due to profit-taking.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index declined by 635 points, or 0.05 percent, on a weekly basis, settling at 117,807 points compared to 118,442.18 points in the previous week. There were only four trading sessions during the week due to a holiday on Jummatul Wida.
The average daily trading volume on the ready counter stood at 317 million shares. Meanwhile, the total market capitalization dropped by Rs 25 billion, closing at Rs 14.374 trillion, down from Rs 14.399 trillion a week earlier.
BRIndex100 gained 23 points during the last week to close at 12,613 points up from 12,590.14 points with average daily turnover of 269 million shares. BRIndex30 also surged by 185 points on a week-on-week basis to close at 39, 320 points with average daily trading volumes of 185 million shares.
According to AHL Research the KSE-100 Index displayed mixed trends throughout the week, beginning on a negative note due to the proposed increase in royalty for cement companies and IMF’s concerns over the proposed tariff cuts.
However, the market rebounded later, driven by the staff-level agreement between Pakistan and the IMF for the first review of the EFF program, facilitating the disbursement of the second tranche of $ 1 billion.
In addition to this, the IMF and Pakistan also signed a new 28 month arrangement under the RSF, amounting to $ 1.3 billion. On the economic front, Pakistan’s GDP grew by 1.73 percent YoY in 2QFY25, while GDP growth for 1HFY25 stood at 1.54 percent, compared to 2.33 percent in 1HFY24.
Meanwhile, in the T-bill auction, the SBP raised PKR 640 billion, slightly below the target of PKR 650 billion. The market closed at level of 117,807 points, depicting a decline of 635 points WoW.
Sector-wise negative contributions came from Fertilizers (333pts), Technology (280pts), Cement(196pts), Leather & Tanneries (107pts), and Textile (54pts). Meanwhile, the sectors that contributed positively were Banks (488pts), Power, Pharma (76pts), E&Ps (72pts) and Tobacco (41pts).
Scrip-wise negative contributors were FFC (239pts), SYS (198pts), SRVI (107pts), EFERT (106pts), and CHCC (106pts). Whereas, scrip-wise positive contributions came from UBL (462pts), HUBC (169pts), OGDC (115pts), MEBL (112pts), and PAKT (41pts).
Foreigner buying continued during this week clocked in at $3.92 million compared to a net sell of $7.96 million last week. Major buying was witnessed in OMC’s worth $4.2 million followed by All other sectors $ 1.5 million. On the local front, selling was reported by Insurance companies $ 10.5 million.
Other major news were Mari Energies begins production from Shewa discovery in Waziristan Block, 1HFY25 direct tax collection rises 29.4pc YoY, PPL, POGC discover gas in Sindh’s Kirthar block, Punjab CM launches free tractor scheme, and SBP raises Rs981bn through floating rate PIBs.
According to Spectrum Securities, KSE-100 Index closed the week (four days) down 0.54 percent. The week started with a big decline of 1.7 percent (-2002 points) on Monday. On Wednesday the market rebounded 1 percent (1139 points) to 117,772 after the announcement of staff level agreement between Pakistan and IMF on EFF for the release of a second tranche of $1 billion.
In addition, a new $1.3 billion climate funding under RSF will also be made available to the country over 28 months. Last day of the week witnessed subdued activity ahead of long Eid holidays. This negative weekly close came after 6 consecutive plus closing, which brought the index back to its January 2025 highs.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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