The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) observed sustained selling pressure, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 1% during the trading session on Wednesday.
The market opened on a relatively firm note, briefly touching an intra-day high of 168,191, but quickly came under pressure in early trade. A sharp dip was observed before 10am, followed by a modest recovery attempt.
However, the rebound lacked strength as the market remained volatile within a narrow band through late morning.
Selling intensified gradually by 12pm, pushing the benchmark index lower. The KSE-100 touched an intra-day low of 164,229 before staging a minor pullback.
At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 164,626.29, down by 1,632.25 points or 0.98%.
“During the day, the benchmark traded within a range of 168,191 to 164,229 points, primarily impacted by weak investor sentiment and futures rollover pressure,” said Topline Securities.
Index-heavy constituents—including UBL, ENGROH, PPL, LUCK, and DGKC—emerged as key laggards, collectively dragging the index down by 928 points during the session, added the brokerage house.
In a key development, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff mission will visit Pakistan today to conduct discussions on the third review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme and the second review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
The mission will begin engagements in Karachi with officials of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) before moving to Islamabad next week for talks with the government’s economic team.
On Tuesday, corrections at the PSX persisted with benchmark and sectoral indices closing lower in a volatile session marked by sharp intraday swings, heavy turnover, and continued erosion in overall market capitalisation. The benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at 166,258.55 points, down 1,432.54 points or 0.85%.
Globally, Asia’s financial markets were higher on Wednesday with Korean chipmakers leading gains, as investors double down on what they see as the safest bet on artificial intelligence (AI), while the yen remained in focus.
Investors rocked by volatility in recent months were also awaiting U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday evening in Washington. Market participants are bracing for comments that could touch on policies from trade to affordability to Iran.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1% higher in early trading.
Japan’s Nikkei set a record high. It was up 1.1% at 57,956.92 in early trade after touching an intraday peak of 58,047.89.
The broader Topix edged up 0.07% to 3,818.73.
Korea’s KOSPI was nearly 1.7%, trading above 6,000 for the first time. The index is up 44% so far this year.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered a marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday. At close, the local currency settled at 279.51, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index declined to 619.62 million from 687.96 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares decreased to Rs29.25 billion from Rs38.46 billion in the previous session.
K-Electric Ltd was the volume leader with 99.79 million shares, followed by Cnergyico PK with 70.33 million shares, and F. Nat.Equities with 33.42 million shares.
Shares of 483 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 143 registered an increase, 278 recorded a fall, and 62 remained unchanged.
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