PSX: KSE-100 settles nearly 500 points lower

A volatile trading session was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as investors remained cautious amid reports that the US was sending more troops and carriers to the Middle East, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing with a loss of nearly 500 points on Friday.

Selling pressure in early trade dragged the benchmark to an intra-day low of 167,685.42. The market subsequently stabilised and staged a recovery, with the index climbing to an intra-day high of 168,854.46 in the second half of trading.

However, the recovery failed to hold as selling pressure emerged again towards the close, pulling the index back towards 168,000.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 168,155.49, falling 481.36 points or 0.29%.

“Investor participation remained subdued amid a lack of fresh triggers, elevated crude oil prices, and the ongoing stalemate in US-Iran relations,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

Top negative contribution to the index came from SYS, MEBL, LUCK, NBP and HBL, as they cumulatively weighed down on the index by 269 points, it added.

On Thursday, profit-taking and broad-based selling across banks, exploration and production companies, cement and oil marketing companies dragged the PSX sharply lower, as elevated crude oil prices and persistent geopolitical uncertainty weakened investor sentiment and erased the market’s early gains above the 170,000-point level. The KSE-100 Index shed 1,332.47 points, or 0.78%, to close at 168,636.85 points.

Internationally, Asian shares fell on Friday as investors grappled with wild swings in bond and currency markets ahead of key US jobs data, while a widening military buildup ​in the Gulf kept oil prices elevated.

In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.5% and was on ​track for a weekly decline of 1.7%. Japan’s Nikkei dropped 0.7% but was set for a gain of 3.1% for the ⁠week.

Mainland Chinese markets are closed for a public holiday through Wednesday of next week.

Nasdaq futures rose 0.3%, and S&P 500 futures inched up 0.1% after the pullback ​in Treasury yields helped Wall Street stage a late rebound.

All eyes are on the US nonfarm payrolls due later in the day. Forecasts are centred on a rise ​of 90,000 jobs in September, while the employment rate is likely to be steady at 4.1%. Much attention will be on hourly earnings after the ISM survey showed a huge jump in prices paid, pointing to more cost pressures.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee extended its marginal gains against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Friday. The local unit closed the day at 277.07, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 493.96 million from 548.38 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares rose to Rs17.49 billion from Rs17.05 billion in the previous session.

F. Nat.Equities was the volume leader with 42.51 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 40.08 million shares, and D.S. Ind. Ltd. with 29.51 million shares.

Shares of 494 companies were traded on Friday, of which 128 registered an increase, 321 recorded a fall, and 45 remained unchanged.