After initial buying momentum, profit-taking engulfed the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday, wiping out intra-day gains as the benchmark KSE-100 lost nearly 1,900 points during trading.
At 2:20pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 148,703.10, a decrease of 1,887.90 points or 1.25%.
Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited, said the decline is largely attributable to profit-taking after a recent rally.
Despite the intraday dip, Tawfik emphasised that overall market sentiment remains positive, supported by the ongoing corporate result season and expectations surrounding a potential circular debt resolution.
Investors are closely monitoring earnings announcements from key listed companies.
Meanwhile, Waqas Ghani, Head of Research at JS Global, said “some profit-taking is natural” after recent gains.
On Wednesday, the PSX advanced further into record territory, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at an all-time high of 150,591.00 points, gaining 820 points or 0.55%.
Globally, Asian stock markets were broadly mixed on Thursday.
Japan’s Nikkei dropped 0.6% in the morning session, retreating further from the record peak reached on Tuesday.
Despite a tech-led selloff on Wall Street overnight, Japanese chip stocks were a mixed bag, with Advantest up 3% while Tokyo Electron dropped 2%.
South Korea’s KOSPI bounced 0.9% after dipping to a six-week low on Wednesday. Australia’s benchmark gained 0.6% and renewed an all-time high.
Mainland Chinese blue chips gained 0.5%, although Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was largely flat.
US stock futures pointed lower, with Nasdaq futures sagging 0.2% and S&P 500 futures easing 0.1%.
Overnight, the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.7% and the S&P 500 cash index slipped 0.2%.
Traders currently lay odds of about 80% for a quarter-point Fed rate cut on September 17, and price in a total of 52 basis points of easing over the rest of the year.
This is an intra-day update
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