A volatile session was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 shedding nearly 300 points amid profit-taking in the final hours of trading on Tuesday.
The KSE-100 opened with a strong upward movement, peaking in the morning session as it hit an intra-day high of 162,819.85.
However, the index declined gradually through midday as investors booked profits, dragging the index to an intra-day low of 161,276.81, before showing a slight recovery towards the close.
At close, the KSE-100 settled at 161,692.49, a decrease of 291.59 points 0.18%.
“The local bourse experienced a turbulent session today, swinging between gains and losses as volatility took center stage. Rollover pressure ahead of futures contract expiry – coupled with the persistent absence of major market-moving news – kept sentiment fragile throughout the day,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
Among key movers, heavyweights FFC, LUCK, BAFL, POL, and SYS provided a combined uplift of 317 points. On the flip side, ENGROH, PPL, NBP, BAHL, and HUBC weighed on the performance, jointly dragging the index lower by 303 points, it added.
On Monday, Pakistan equities closed lower with the benchmark KSE-100 Index slipping in a subdued session marked by muted volatility, reduced investor participation, and caution at the start of the roll-over week.
The KSE-100 ended at 161,984.09 points, down 118.84 points or 0.07%.
Globally, Asian share markets rallied on Tuesday as hopes grew that the Federal Reserve would deliver a December interest rate cut, while investors piled into global technology stocks, shrugging off concerns the sector was becoming overheated.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1% led mainly by tech stocks, recouping some of the losses from last week when it fell 4%.
The index is on course for a 3.8% drop in the month, its first monthly decline since March.
Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.8% in early trading on Tuesday after returning from a holiday on Monday. The index slid 3.5% last week as a bout of risk-off sentiment gripped markets.
The prospect of a US rate cut is rising after Fed Governor Christopher Waller said available data indicated that the US job market remains weak enough to warrant another quarter-point cut to interest rates.
Markets are pricing in an 85.1% chance of a cut of 25 basis points at the December meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool, up from 42.4% a week ago. The US central bank will meet on December 9 and 10.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee improved further against the US dollar, appreciating 0.02% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the local currency settled at 280.57, a gain of Re0.04 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 590.53 million from 490.35 million recorded in the previous close. The value of shares declined to Rs22.15 billion from Rs23.67 billion in the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 59.20 million shares, followed by Bank Makramah with 45.98 million shares, and P.T.C.L with 38.78 million shares.
Shares of 477 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 155 registered an increase, 284 recorded a fall, and 38 remained unchanged.
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