PSX: KSE-100 closes in red, loses 200 points

A volatile trading session was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index swinging in both directions before closing with a loss of nearly 200 points.

The benchmark index remained volatile during the trading session, initially rising to an intra-day high of 178,122.87 before coming under selling pressure.

The index struggled to sustain gains above the 178,000 and gradually weakened, with intermittent recovery attempts failing to reverse the overall trend.

Selling pressure intensified in the afternoon, pushing the index to an intra-day low of 176,735.57. The index recovered marginally thereafter but remained in negative territory.

At close, the KSE-100 settled at 176,966.68, down by 199.84 points or 0.11%.

“The local bourse opened on a positive note, with the KSE-100 Index surging to an intra-day high of 956 points amid strong buying interest. However, the momentum failed to sustain as profit-taking emerged in the latter half of the session, dragging the index to an intra-day low of 430 points,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

On the positive side, OGDC, PPL, MLCF, DGKC, and FCCL emerged as the major gainers, collectively contributing around 391 points to the KSE-100 Index. Conversely, ENGROH, MEBL, SRVI, and SYS were the major laggards, collectively dragging the index down by 388 points, it added.

During the previous week, heightened political and geopolitical tensions, coupled with uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and a sharp rise in international oil prices, weighed on investor sentiment at the PSX. The KSE-100 Index opened the week at 180,104.61 points and closed at 177,166.52 points, shedding 2,938.09 points or 1.6% week-on-week.

Internationally, share markets were flat in Asia on Monday and oil prices eased as investors awaited ​details of threatened U.S. sanctions on Iran due later in the session, while the Canadian dollar dipped as a trade war loomed with its southern ‌neighbour.

The entire tech sector is holding its breath for Nvidia’s results on Wednesday; investors are aware of how hard it will be for the chip maker to meet stratospheric expectations.

Analysts are generally looking for quarterly revenue to almost double to around $92 billion, with full-year earnings guidance seen in a range of $103 billion to $105 billion.

Market participants will also be hoping for some clarity on the outlook ​for U.S. interest rates when Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh speaks in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, though his well-known aversion to forward guidance ​could lead to disappointment.

Markets imply around a 40% chance that the Fed will raise interest rates when it meets on September 16 and are fully priced for a move by December.

The odds could change depending on what U.S. inflation figures show this week, with median forecasts for core inflation expected to hold at 3.3% in July.

Equity markets were quiet in early trade, with the Nikkei near flat after having ​fallen almost 4% last week. South Korean ​shares eased 0.8%, while Taiwan dipped ⁠0.5%.

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

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee extended its marginal gains against the US dollar on Monday. The local unit closed the day at 277.55, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 933.52 million from 689.17 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares rose to Rs44.10 billion from Rs35.66 billion in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 266.48 million shares, followed by Tasdeeq Information with 148.56 million shares, and Pak Refinery with 52.89 million shares.

Shares of 498 companies were traded on Monday, of which 222 registered an increase, 241 recorded a fall, and 35 remained unchanged.