PSX: selling continues, KSE-100 settles nearly 700 points lower

Selling pressure continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as negative sentiment prevailed among investors following renewed attacks across ‌the Middle East, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing with a loss of nearly 700 points on Wednesday.

The benchmark index opened around 173,000 and initially moved higher, touching an intra-day high of 173,174.18. However, the early gains were short-lived, with the index coming under selling pressure and falling sharply towards the 172,000 during the morning session. It briefly recovered, but failed to sustain the rebound.

Trading remained range-bound through most of the afternoon. However, a steep decline was observed in the final hours of trading that pulled the KSE-100 to an intra-day low of 171,801.66.

At close, the KSE-100 settled at 171,943.59, down 698.57 points, or 0.40%.

“The session remained volatile and bearish, as investors continued to exercise caution amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and elevated crude oil prices. Brent crude moved above $100/barrel,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

On the negative side, FFC, MCB, LUCK, MEBL, and MARI were among the major contributors to the index decline, collectively dragging the KSE-100 by approximately 409 points. Conversely, PSEL, UBL, and OGDC provided some support, collectively contributing approximately 224 points to the index, it added.

On Tuesday, bearish sentiment gripped the PSX as escalating US-Iran tensions and elevated global crude prices triggered profit-taking across index-heavy sectors. The benchmark KSE-100 Index declined by 993.92 points, or 0.57%, to close at 172,642.16.

Internationally, Brent crude rallied towards $100 per barrel on Wednesday, keeping the mood ​in Asian stock markets subdued, as attacks intensified in the Middle East, stoking inflation worries ahead of the release of closely watched ‌US consumer price data.

Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen launched strikes ​on several Saudi cities on Tuesday, further embroiling a U.S. ally in the conflict, while U.S. forces ⁠hit multiple Iranian oil tankers and Iran struck a U.S. base in Jordan.

Oil prices jumped for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, gaining more than $1 ​in early trade.

Brent crude futures rose $1.57 to $99.49 a barrel, the highest level since late June. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $94.63 a ​barrel, up $1.60.

Stocks in Sydney slipped around 0.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.6% and mainland Chinese blue chips edged up 0.2%.

A rebound in chip and AI stocks helped some other regional benchmarks, though, with Japan’s Nikkei up 0.6% following Tuesday’s 1.7% tumble. South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 1.6%, and Taiwan’s TAIEX rose 0.6%.

Overnight, the Philadelphia SE semiconductor index jumped 1.3%, despite declines on Wall Street’s ​three main indexes.

U.S. S&P 500 futures added 0.1%, after the cash index sank 0.6% on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee extended its marginal gains against the US dollar in the interbank market on Wednesday. The local unit closed the day at 277.36, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 477.67 million from 722.62 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares declined to Rs22.64 billion from Rs27.94 billion in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 65.82 million shares, followed by Aisha Steel Mill with 28.56 million shares, and Thatta Cement with 25.59 million shares.

Shares of 492 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 162 registered an increase, 293 recorded a fall, and 37 remained unchanged.