PSX: KSE-100 Index closes marginally up after volatile trading

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile session on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index swaying in both directions throughout the day before closing marginally higher.

The index opened with strong buying interest, climbing sharply in early trade and hitting an intra-day high of 175,796.24, after which profit-taking pushed the index lower.

Selling pressure intensified later in the afternoon, with the index losing most of its intra-day gains.

At close, the KSE-100 settled at 174,929.68, up 153.09 points, or 0.09%.

“The volatility can largely be attributed to the ongoing geopolitical conflict, which continues to exert pressure on global energy markets. Rising international oil prices remain a key concern for investors, given their potential impact on Pakistan’s external account, inflationary pressures, and overall macroeconomic stability,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

On the negative side, BAHL, UBL, PPL, SRVI, and ATRL were among the major contributors to the index decline, collectively dragging the KSE-100 by approximately 196 points. Conversely, ENGROH, LUCK, and NBP provided support, collectively contributing approximately 167 points to the index, it added.

Buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, HBL, MCB, MEBL and UBL, traded in the green, Topline said.

In a major development, Pakistan raised $3 billion through a dual-tranche Eurobond sale that drew nearly $6 billion in orders, its finance ministry said on Thursday.

On Thursday, renewed geopolitical hostilities surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and a sharp escalation in global oil prices triggered heavy selling across the PSX on Wednesday as investors reacted to heightened regional risks and concerns over the domestic economy. The KSE-100 Index closed at 174,776.60, marking a decline of 1,690.40 points or 0.96%.

Internationally, shares and bonds staged a relief rally in Asia on Thursday while the yen held ​on to gains as investors awaited fresh US data and central banker comments for signals that could determine whether the ‌Federal Reserve tightens policy this month.

Japanese government bond yields slid from historic peaks, tracking a recovery in Treasuries overnight, ahead of an auction of super-long debt in Tokyo.

Oil edged lower from elevated levels as uncertainty prevailed over renewed military strikes between the US and Iran.

The market’s immediate focus is Friday’s pivotal US payrolls report after disappointing private labour ​data for August. Fed Board Governor Christopher Waller is due to speak after Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams tempered ​expectations of a hike this month.

MSCI’s broadest ​index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.5%, after US stocks ended the previous session with mild gains.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee extended its marginal gains, appreciating 0.01% against the US dollar on Thursday. The local unit closed the day at 277.42, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 627.45 million from 610.18 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares declined to Rs25.19 billion from Rs31.86 billion in the previous session.

Tasdeeq Information was the volume leader with 94.95 million shares, followed by Cnergyico PK with 80.99 million shares, and Pak Refinery with 23.94 million shares.

Shares of 494 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 252 registered an increase, 207 recorded a fall, and 35 remained unchanged.