After hitting a record intra-day high, profit-taking erased gains at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the benchmark KSE-100 Index settled down by nearly 800 points on Thursday.
Propelled by bullish momentum, the KSE-100 Index reached an intra-day high of 120,699.17 during the day.
However, selling was witnessed during the second half of the trading session.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 119,153.04, down by 778.41 points or 0.65%.
The PSX staged a strong recovery on Wednesday, primarily driven by renewed investor confidence and speculative interest ahead of the federal budget, with notable buying activity in oil & gas and banking sector stocks.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 960 points or 0.81%, closing at 119,931.5 points.
Internationally, longer-dated US Treasury yields hit their highest in 18 months on Thursday, while Asian stocks and the dollar slipped as worries of a worsening fiscal outlook in the world’s biggest economy weighed on investor sentiment.
The spotlight remains on US President Donald Trump’s tax bill that is expected to be voted on this week in Congress and investors are worried it could add about $3.8 trillion to the $36 trillion US debt pile.
The dour mood among investors after Moody’s downgraded the US credit rating last week has left markets slightly listless as a “Sell America” narrative gains traction. The greenback is hovering near its lowest in two weeks against other major currencies.
Investors have also been looking for options outside the US based on —expectations it would not be immune in the event of a global recession spurred by Trump’s erratic trade policy.
Investor reluctance to buy US assets was evident on Wednesday after the U.S. Treasury Department saw tepid demand for the $16 billion sale of 20-year bonds, which pushed bond yields higher.
Japan’s Nikkei was down 0.7% on the stronger yen. China’s benchmark index slipped 0.2%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.8% in early trading.
Still, analysts have said market sentiment has been buoyed lately by economic data indicating resilience in the face of trade uncertainty brought on by Trump’s tariff salvos.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee declined further against the US dollar, depreciating 0.03% in the inter-bank market on Thursday to hit 17-month low. At close, the local currency settled at 282.06, a loss of Re0.09 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 589.77 million from 667.68 million recorded in the previous close.
However, the value of shares rose to Rs30.81 billion from Rs26.62 billion in the previous session.
K-Electric Ltd was the volume leader with 42.77 million shares, followed by Bank Makramah with 28.17 million shares, and Ghani Glo Hol with 27.64 million shares.
Shares of 466 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 195 registered an increase, 229 recorded a fall, while 42 remained unchanged.
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