KSE-100 loses nearly 2,000 points amid severe selling pressure

Selling pressure persisted at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing nearly 2,000 points on Thursday to fall below the 110,500 level.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at 110,423.32, a decrease of 1,991.48 points or 1.77%.

“The market has been influenced by increased leverage and the expiry of December contracts. Furthermore, ongoing security concerns at the borders are affecting investor sentiment,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market comments.

Selling pressure was observed in key sectors including cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including NRL, HUBCO, SSGC, SNGP, MARI, OGDC, POL, ENGRO, HBL, MEBL and NBP traded in the red.

The stock market remained closed on Wednesday on account of a public holiday.

On Tuesday, the PSX witnessed a highly volatile session and after moving in both directions closed deep in the red with heavy losses due to rollover and year-end selling pressure. The KSE-100 plunged by 1,509.61 points or 1.33%.

Internationally, Asia shares rose slightly in holiday-thinned trade on Thursday, extending gains from earlier in the week with little news or data in the way to alter their direction of travel, while the dollar was perched near a two-year high.

As year-end approaches, trading volumes have begun thinning out, and investors’ main focus remains the Federal Reserve’s rate outlook. On Thursday, markets in Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand were closed for a holiday.

Since Fed Chair Jerome Powell primed markets for fewer rate cuts next year at the central bank’s last policy meeting of the year, traders are now pricing in just about 35 basis points worth of easing for 2025.

That has in turn lifted US Treasury yields and the dollar, with the greenback’s renewed strength a burden for commodities and gold.

The benchmark 10-year yield was last steady at 4.5967%, having risen above 4.6% for the first time since May 30 earlier in the week. It is up roughly 40 basis points for the month thus far. The two-year yield similarly firmed at 4.3407%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ticked up 0.04% and was headed for a weekly rise of nearly 2%, taking a cue from its counterparts on Wall Street earlier in the week.

S&P 500 futures edged 0.02% higher, while Nasdaq futures advanced 0.13%.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating 0.04% in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the currency settled at 278.37 for a gain of Re0.10 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 628.03 million from 880.60 million on Tuesday.

The value of shares declined to Rs33.58 billion from Rs54.45 billion in the previous session.

Fauji Foods Ltd was the volume leader with 93.34 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 49.88 million shares, and TRG Pak Ltd with 46.91 million shares.

Shares of 450 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 113 registered an increase, 284 recorded a fall, while 53 remained unchanged.