The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed mixed trading on Wednesday, as its benchmark KSE-100 Index swayed in both directions before closing the day on a flat note.
The KSE-100 witnessed buying momentum in the first half, hitting an intra-day high of 119,460.54, followed by selling in the later part of the day, which pushed it to an intra-day low of 118,148.65.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 118,536.53, marginally lower by 39.36 points or 0.03%.
“After two consecutive sessions of a powerful bull run, the local bourse witnessed a hot-and-cold trading day, marked by heightened volatility and strategic profit-taking,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
On the upside, heavyweights such as ENGROH, FFC, MEBL, and UBL led the charge, collectively adding 470 points to the index. However, the rally lost some steam as OGDC, MCB, BAHL, and MARI dragged the index down by a combined 354 points, offsetting much of the early momentum, Topline said.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) team will kick-start talks with Pakistani authorities from today onwards, which will centre on the upcoming budget for 2025-26. The government is also expected to update the IMF on its progress with tax broadening measures, energy sector reforms, and state-owned enterprise restructuring.
On Tuesday, bullish momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as investors cheered the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing the session with a gain of nearly 1,300 points at 118,575.88, on Tuesday.
Globally, stocks edged up in Asia on Wednesday while the US dollar wobbled as relatively benign US inflation data fed into prospects of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this year even as investors were still gauging if the worst of the trade conflicts was over.
As US President Donald Trump’s global trade war appeared to hit pause, led by a truce in the tariff spat between China and the United States, financial markets remained nervous about the outlook.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.9% in early trade after U.S. stocks climbed back into positive territory for the year, erasing losses triggered by Trump’s chaotic rollout of sweeping tariffs.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose in early trading, lifted by tech stocks, after Chinese e-commerce retailer Jd.com posted strong results. Investor focus this week will be on earnings from Tencent and Alibaba.
Equity futures pointed to retreats in both European and US markets.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee weakened further against the US dollar, depreciating 0.02% in the inter-bank market on Wednesday. At close, the local currency settled at 281.72, a loss of Re0.05 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 609.06 million from 684.29 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares declined to Rs41.91 billion from Rs52.59 billion in the previous session.
At-Tahur Ltd was the volume leader with 38.76 million shares, followed by Fauji Cement with 36.17 million shares, and Sui South Gas with 32.38 million shares.
Shares of 451 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 207 registered an increase, 191 recorded a fall, while 53 remained unchanged.
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