Selling engulfs bourse, KSE-100 loses nearly 2,600 points

A volatile trading session was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 swinging both ways before closing with a loss of nearly 2,600 points on Wednesday.

The benchmark index opened relatively firm, briefly hitting the intra-day high of 169,686. However, selling kicked in soon after, leading to a steady downward trajectory through late morning.

Around mid-day, there was a minor consolidation, but it failed to reverse sentiment.

The final hours saw renewed pressure as sellers remained in control till the end, pushing the index toward the intra-day low of 165,391.

At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 165,823.87, down by 2,588.36 points or 1.54%.

“The downturn was primarily fuelled by persistent offloading from local mutual funds, as reflected in NCCPL data, exacerbating the negative momentum,” Topline Securities said.

“Adding to the bearish sentiment, a string of below-par corporate earnings failed to meet market expectations, triggering broad-based disappointment and prompting investors to adopt a risk-off stance.”

Heavyweight stocks, including UBL, NBP, OGDC, ENGROH, and PPL, faced persistent selling pressure, cumulatively weighing down the index by 1,164 points, Topline said.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Tuesday that Pakistan has fulfilled most of the conditions set by the IMF, hoping the IMF executive board will approve the next $1.2 billion tranche on May 8.

He said that the board’s approval would unlock critical external inflows and stabilise Pakistan’s balance of payments, adding that an IMF mission is expected in mid-May to discuss next year’s budget proposals.

On Tuesday, PSX remained under pressure for a second straight session as investors continued reacting to the State Bank of Pakistan’s unexpected 100 basis points increase in the policy rate, with volatility persisting throughout the day before the market closed lower amid broad-based selling in heavyweight sectors. The KSE-100 closed at 168,412.23 points, down 1,085.12 points or 0.64%.

Globally, markets got off to an uneven start in Asian trading on Wednesday as worries about the Iran conflict and health of the AI sector ​dominated ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision and earnings from tech megacap stocks later in the session.

MSCI’s broadest index of ‌Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.2%, retreating for a second day from record highs set on Monday, led by declines for Taiwanese chipmakers. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

S&P 500 e-mini futures nudged up 0.1%, while Brent crude rose 0.4% to $111.71 per barrel as efforts to end the Iran conflict hit an impasse.

US President ⁠Donald Trump was unhappy with the latest proposal from Tehran as he wants nuclear issues dealt with from the outset, a US official said.

The Wall ​Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing US officials, that Trump has instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran.

Stocks on Wall Street sold off ​on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 sliding 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite falling 0.9% as investors assessed the stalemate in Iran.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday. At close, the local currency settled at 278.80, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 1,087.44 million from 1,190.34 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares rose to Rs39.55 billion from Rs34.54 billion in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 105.65 million shares, followed by Clover Pakistan with 91.11 million shares, and Hascol Petrol with 65.85 million shares.

Shares of 488 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 88 registered an increase, 362 recorded a fall, and 38 remained unchanged.