KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a modest recovery on Wednesday, rebounding after a sharp downturn in the previous session. Despite persistent volatility, the benchmark index managed to close higher on the back of selective buying in blue-chip stocks, while broader market sentiment remained mixed.
The KSE-100 Index gained 313.44 points, or 0.20 percent, to close at 158,183.95, against the previous close of 157,870.50. The index touched an intraday high of 159,516.41 and a low of 157,203.55, reflecting cautious trading activity across sectors.
On Wednesday, the BRIndex100 closed at 16,631.41, gaining 36.74 points or 0.22 percent compared to the previous close. The total volume stood at 572.62 million shares. Meanwhile, the BRIndex30 finished at 52,333.26, down 135.03 points or 0.26 percent, with a total turnover of 339.67 million shares.
According to Arif Habib Limited’s Deputy Head of Trading, Ali Najib, the session saw a tug of war between bullish and bearish forces as early optimism briefly lifted investor sentiment before fading later in the day. He observed that after a turbulent previous session, the market exhibited indecisive behaviour, with participants staying cautious amid lingering domestic and regional security concerns.
Trading remained active, though turnover and traded value moderated slightly compared to the previous day. The ready market recorded 757.24 million shares, down from 836.43 million shares, while traded value declined to Rs 33.41 billion from Rs 38.08 billion.
The overall market capitalization inched lower to Rs 18.07 trillion, compared to Rs 18.08 trillion in the preceding session.
Market breadth remained mixed, with gainers and losers nearly balancing out. In the ready market, 480 companies were traded, of which 188 advanced, 235 declined and 57 remained unchanged.
Market activity was led by First National Equities, which topped the chart with 89.37 million shares, closing at Rs 20.66. PIA Holding Company followed with 56.34 million shares, closing at Rs29.75. WorldCall Telecom recorded 48.70 million shares, closing slightly lower at Rs 1.66.
On the gainers’ board, PIA Holding Company Limited-B emerged as the top performer, increasing by Rs331.34 to close at Rs24,532.96. Pakistan Services Limited followed with a gain of Rs88.00, settling at Rs1,382.93. Among notable losers, Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited fell by Rs247.00 to close at Rs28,453.00, while Supernet Technologies Limited declined Rs56.93 to finish at Rs1,508.45.
The BR Tech & Comm Index fell the most in percentage terms, dropping 1.08 percent to 3,713.12, despite leading in trading volume with about 87.39 million shares. The BR Power Generation & Distribution Index posted the largest point loss, down 215.03 points (-0.87 percent) to 24,522.99, with a turnover of roughly 44.55 million shares.
The BR Cement Index declined 0.67 percent to 12,044.49 on a turnover of around 24.88 million shares. The BR Automobile Assembler Index slipped 0.64 percent to 24,493.48, recording the lowest turnover at about 2.14 million shares.
The BR Oil & Gas Index saw a smaller drop of 0.16 percent, closing at 13,286.57 on a turnover of 39.71 million shares. The BR Commercial Banks Index was the most resilient, down just 0.09 percent to 47,963.33, with a high trading activity of 66.47 million shares.
Overall, the session remained volatile with investors treading cautiously amid weak sentiment and limited positive triggers. Despite intraday recoveries, selling pressure near session highs kept overall momentum in check.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.