PSX: KSE-100 Index closes marginally higher as late buying offsets intra-day losses

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) observed a volatile trading session, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index swinging both ways before closing in the positive territory on Monday.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index initially moved higher before coming under selling pressure during the morning session. It subsequently recovered some ground around mid-day but retreated again, touching an intra-day low of 165,585.42.

The market staged a notable recovery in the afternoon, with the index climbing sharply and crossing the 166,500. It continued its upward trajectory to reach an intra-day high of 166,989.76 before surrendering some gains towards the close.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 166,564.06 points, up 154.81 points or 0.09%.

“Investors maintained a cautious stance, weighing domestic inflationary concerns against easing international crude oil prices,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

“Buying interest was primarily observed in select heavyweight stocks from the commercial banking and cement sectors, while selective profit-taking capped the broader market’s upside, it added.

During the previous week, PSX snapped its five-week losing streak, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 4,034.37 points, or 2.5% week-on-week, to close at 166,409.25 points. Renewed optimism over progress in regional peace talks improved investor risk appetite and triggered broad-based buying across major sectors, reversing the market’s prolonged decline.

Globally, share markets steadied in Asia on Monday as investors hoped for Apple earnings later in the day to provide some relief from AI ​cash-burn worries, while oil prices eased after talks continued between Iranian and Qatari mediators.

The optimism helped S&P 500 futures edge up 0.4%, while Nasdaq futures bounced 0.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost almost 7% in October for its worst ​month since the ‘Liberation Day’ tariff rout of April 2025.

Some upbeat news is sorely needed after concerns about negative cash flow and the ⁠sheer scale of AI capex saw the cost of insuring against corporate defaults blow out last week.

Intel’s near 29% tumble on Friday has also raised the stakes for ​other chip groups, including AMD.

An added wrinkle is the midterm elections in the United States, where a win by Democrats in either or both houses could result in more political ​hurdles for data centres.

Adding to the air of unease were withdrawals from Binance as the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange went back online on Sunday after hackers stole billions from the platform last week.

Japan’s Nikkei ‌was down ⁠0.1%, but off early lows, while South Korea added 0.8%, having shed 16% last month.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.2%.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee continued its marginal gain against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Monday. The local unit closed the day at 276.72, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 443.43 million from 825.47 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares declined to Rs17.73 billion from Rs23.12 billion in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 93.11 million shares, followed by Pervez Ahmed Co with 45.18 million shares, and TPL Properties with 30.10 million shares.

Shares of 496 companies were traded on Monday, of which 137 registered an increase, 319 recorded a fall, and 40 remained unchanged.