Selling at bourse, KSE-100 settles 2,300 points lower

A volatile trading session was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 2,300 points on Friday.

The market opened on a positive note and briefly climbed to an intra-day high of 178,694.48, indicating early buying interest. However, the gains proved short-lived as sellers quickly took control, dragging the index lower.

The benchmark then traded largely range-bound around the 178,000-point level during the first half of the session before witnessing a sharp breakdown after mid-afternoon. Selling intensified during the second half, with the index falling steadily through the remainder of the session.

The KSE-100 eventually touched an intra-day low of 175,790.62 shortly before the close.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 175,802.78, down by 2,320.78 points or 1.30%.

“The negative sentiment was largely driven by escalating geopolitical tensions, as reports indicated that the US and Iran had intensified attacks beyond military targets, raising concerns over a broader conflict and the absence of any agreement regarding the Strait of Hormuz,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

Among index heavyweights, ENGROH, SYS, UBL, OGDC, and PPL were the biggest drags on the benchmark, collectively shaving 694 points off the index, it added.

On a weekly basis, the KSE-100 Index declined by 3.5%.

The decline was “primarily due to continued geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, which kept crude oil prices elevated and weighed on investor sentiment”, Topline said.

On Thursday, the PSX extended its recovery for a second consecutive session as renewed optimism over the possible resumption of dialogue between the United States and Iran improved global risk appetite. The KSE-100 Index settled at 178,123.57 points, gaining 2,837.78 points or 1.62%.

Internationally, Asian stocks got off to a rocky start on ​Friday as the drag from chipmakers weighed on global equity indexes, while oil prices were set for their sharpest weekly rise ‌in three months as tensions in the Middle East erupted anew.

Investors this week rotated out of semiconductor plays into other sectors such as banking after robust earnings from major lenders, leaving Asia vulnerable to the selloff given its heavier exposure to chips.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.06% in early Asia trade while the Nikkei ​slid 2.8%.

Nasdaq futures lost 0.7%, and S&P 500 futures declined 0.4%.

EUROSTOXX 50 futures were down 0.5%.

Markets in South Korea were closed for ​a holiday after the government on Thursday announced it would temporarily ban new listings of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are tied to certain major technology firms, while raising minimum required deposits for retail investors to invest in such products, in an effort to curb volatility.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee extended its gains against the US dollar on Friday. The local unit closed the day at 277.96, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 621.02 million from 736.95 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares declined to Rs29.88 billion from Rs34.61 billion in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 86.49 million shares, followed by TPL Properties with 62.54 million shares, and Pak Refinery with 38.58 million shares.

Shares of 497 companies were traded on Friday, of which 101 registered an increase, 367 recorded a fall, and 29 remained unchanged.