The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) observed another volatile trading session on Friday, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index ended the week with a loss of 555 points.
The KSE-100 index opened on a positive note, quickly climbing to an intra-day high of around 155,002 points, indicating strong early buying interest.
However, the momentum failed to sustain, and the market soon entered a gradual downward trajectory as selling pressure emerged.
By late morning, the benchmark dropped sharply, dropping to an intra-day low of 152,780 points, reflecting heightened profit-taking and cautious investor sentiment.
The market staged a partial recovery, following this steep fall, but remained under pressure and moved sideways with mild fluctuations during the later part of the session.
At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 153,866.16 points, down by 555.27 points or 0.36%.
“This pressure can be attributed to investors` fear of any negative development over the weekend resulting from the ongoing Middle East conflict, where oil prices are already hovering around $100 a barrel,” said Topline Securities.
The top negative contribution to the index came from ENGROH, FFC, LUCK, HUBC & MEBL, as they cumulatively contributed negative 649 points to the index, added the brokerage house.
On Thursday, PSX extended its volatile streak as investor sentiment remained fragile amid persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty in global energy markets, prompting cautious trading across most sectors.
The KSE-100 Index closed in negative territory at 154,421.43 points, down 1,437.05 points or 0.92%.
Internationally, Asian stocks slumped on Friday, poised for a second straight weekly decline as fast-dwindling hopes of a resolution to the US and Israel’s war with Iran kept oil prices aloft, casting a shadow over global markets and spurring inflation fears.
The US dollar has become the safe-haven of choice during the tumult, putting most other currencies under pressure.
The dollar was set for a second consecutive week of gains and is up 2% since the war broke out at the end of February.
Oil prices remained close to the closely watched $100 per barrel level, although they eased a bit in early trading on Friday after US issued a 30-day license for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea.
Brent futures were last at $99.85 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude was at $95.05 a barrel.
In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares eased 0.5%, on course for a 1.5% decline for the week.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.3%, while tech-heavy South Korean stocks slid nearly 2% and Taiwan equities fell 1%.
With Iran stepping up attacks across the Middle East as its new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane closed, investors are bracing for a prolonged conflict and higher oil prices.
The spectre of rising inflation has led markets to rapidly reprice what they expect from central banks this year, with traders now anticipating just 20 basis points of easing from the Federal Reserve compared to 50 bps of cuts priced last month.
Volume on the all-share index declined to 303.02 million from 404.25 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares decreased to Rs14.69 billion from Rs24.67 billion in the previous session.
Dost Steels Ltd was the volume leader with 27.79 million shares, followed by Hascol Petrol with 25.43 million shares, and B.O.Punjab 16.33 million shares.
Shares of 472 companies were traded on Friday, of which 190 registered an increase, 205 recorded a fall, and 77 remained unchanged.
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