Selling continues at bourse, KSE-100 down over 1,300 points

Selling pressure continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 1,300 points during the trading session on Tuesday.

The index opened on a positive note, hitting an intra-day high of 176,131.35. However, the gains proved short-lived as profit-taking emerged almost immediately.

The market staged a noticeable rebound around 12pm; however, the recovery lacked momentum and failed to sustain. Selling intensified again in the final hour, dragging the index toward the intra-day’s low of 171,693.39.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 173,150.41, a decrease of 1,303.52 points or 0.75%.

“The local bourse remained under pressure, extending its losing streak as persistent foreign corporate selling dampened sentiment and kept investors cautious,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

Index-heavy constituents PSO, HBL, ENGROH, UBL, FFC, and NBP led the decline, collectively eroding 892 points from the benchmark. On the flipside, OGDC, PPL, MTL, and BOP provided support, together adding 359 points to the index, it added.

In a key development, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has granted protection to existing prosumers till expiry of their seven-year contracts with Discos/ K-Electric through amendments to the notified Prosumer Regulations 2026, following a communication from the Power Division.

On Monday, PSX suffered a heavy sell-off as intense and broad-based selling of stocks dragged benchmark indices sharply lower, wiping out significant market value amid deteriorating investor sentiment and heightened risk aversion. The KSE-100 Index recorded a steep fall of 5,149.79 points, or 2.87%, to close at 174,453.94 points.

Internationally, Asian financial markets were treading carefully on Tuesday in holiday-thinned trading, but oil pushed higher with US and Iran nuclear negotiations in Geneva due to begin later in the day.

Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea markets were closed on Tuesday for Lunar New Year holidays.

US markets were shut on Monday for Presidents’ Day.

Japan’s Nikkei was down 0.5%, and the broader Topix slid 0.2% to 3,779.29. In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 was trading almost 0.5% higher.

Ten-year Treasury yields slipped 1 basis point to 4.044% on Tuesday, hitting the lowest since early December. Japan’s five-year yield fell 2 basis points to 1.65%, its lowest since February 2.

In early Asian trading hours, Nasdaq futures were down 0.1%, and S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the local currency settled at 279.60, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index declined to 716.03 million from 773.29 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares decreased to Rs40.47 billion from Rs46.24 billion in the previous session.

K-Electric Ltd was the volume leader with 122.54 million shares, followed by B.O. Punjab with 79.83 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 35.50 million shares.

Shares of 477 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 128 registered an increase, 293 recorded a fall, while 56 remained unchanged.