Volatile trading at PSX, KSE-100 sheds nearly 500 points

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile trading session on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index ending with a loss of nearly 500 points.

The market opened on a strong footing, with the benchmark climbing swiftly to its session high of 176,234.28 during early trade amid aggressive buying interest.

However, the rally proved short-lived as selling pressure intensified through the morning, dragging the index steadily lower.

By around mid-day, the KSE-100 had slipped to an intra-day low of 174,612.14.

Buying interest resurfaced during the second half of the session, helping the benchmark recover a significant portion of its losses, but it lost momentum in late trade as fresh selling emerged.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 175,547.98, up by 495 points or 0.28%.

“The local bourse remained under pressure throughout the trading session as investor sentiment weakened following fresh attacks involving the U.S. and Iran, reigniting geopolitical tensions and driving international crude oil prices higher,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

“The surge in global oil prices heightened concerns over inflationary pressures and their potential impact on the broader economy, prompting investors to adopt a cautious stance. Although the market recouped a significant portion of its intraday losses, persistent uncertainty surrounding the geopolitical situation kept buying interest subdued,” it said.

On the index contribution front, ENGROH, LUCK, SYS, HUBC, and PPL emerged as the major laggards, collectively eroding approximately 547 points from the benchmark index, Topline said.

On Wednesday, PSX remained under pressure for a second consecutive day as escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a sharp rise in international crude oil prices dampened investor sentiment, triggering broad-based selling across key sectors. The KSE-100 Index shed 1,580.90 points, or 0.89%, to settle at 176,042.99 points.

Globally, Asian stocks struggled for direction on Thursday, nursing steep losses for the week on mounting investor jitters around the AI trade, while a divided Federal Reserve kept ​interest rates steady, leaving bond markets questioning where rates are headed.

Brent futures slipped below $90 per barrel, after jumping over 7% a ‌day earlier as fighting in the Middle East escalated, although data showed tankers continued to make their way out of the region despite the continued missile and drone strikes.

The dollar was on the defensive after the US central bank held steady,* although the split decision left investors confused on whether the Fed will see through rate hikes to combat inflation. Yields on ​longer-dated U.S. Treasuries rose to 19-year highs.

Asian chipmakers have been the centre of attention this week after a deep selloff in South Korean stocks that ​wiped more than $2 trillion from the country’s equity market rocked markets and investors fretted about the returns from massive AI ⁠spending.

The KOSPI rose 4% in choppy trading on Thursday, but is staring at a 12% weekly decline that prompted Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol to apologise ​for the introduction of single-stock leveraged ETFs.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose ​over 1% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei was 2% higher, but set for a 3% drop in the week.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee extended its marginal gains against the US dollar on Thursday. The local unit closed the day at 277.81, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 711.20 million from 574.07 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares rose to Rs25.40 billion from Rs25.37 billion in the previous session.

Trust Brokerage was the volume leader with 176.88 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 32.31 million shares, and Pak Int.Bulk with 32.12 million shares.

Shares of 495 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 175 registered an increase, 279 recorded a fall, and 41 remained unchanged.