After days of positive momentum, selling pressure returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the benchmark KSE-100 lost over 2% on Friday.
The KSE-100 started the session positive, hitting an intra-day high of 81,939.84.
However, selling pressure in the latter hours provided the bears a space to strengthen their grip and push the index into the negative territory.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 80,117.89, down by 1,721.97 points or 2.10%.
“This significant decline was driven mainly by profit-taking as investors seized the opportunity to lock in gains amid market uncertainty,” brokerage house Ismail Iqbal Securities said in its post-market report.
Selling was witnessed in sectors including banks, fertiliser, power, technology, E&P, cement, and textile.
In a key development, BMI, a Fitch Solutions company, had forecasted that Pakistan is “highly likely” to witness a change of government before the next parliamentary election scheduled for 2029.
“Pakistan’s next parliamentary election is scheduled for 2029. However, it is highly likely that the country will see a change of government before this date,” stated BMI in its Pakistan Country Risk Report for the fourth quarter of calendar year 2024.
“No Pakistani prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term in office,” it noted.
The report said political risk in Pakistan will remain highly elevated in 2024 and 2025.
On Thursday, positive momentum persisted at the PSX as the benchmark KSE-100 gained 684 points to close at a fresh record high at 81,839.86.
Globally, Asian shares are set to end the week on a sour note, as uncertainty across major economies added to headwinds for investors even as the global rate easing cycle gets under way.
American Dollar Exchange Rate