After a brief positive start, profit-taking returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 700 points during intra-day trading on Tuesday.
At 2:40pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 167,005.67, a decrease of 746.73 points or 0.45%.
Selling pressure was observed in key sectors including cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, PSO and WAFI, traded in the red.
In a key development, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani authorities on Monday deliberated on revising downward the GDP projection to 3.5% for the current fiscal year against the government target of 4.2%, as recent floods caused damage to infrastructure, agriculture, and livestock.
Sources told media that in view of the damages caused by recent floods and external factors, an increase in inflation is anticipated.
On Monday, the PSX closed on a broadly negative note as investor sentiment was pressured by escalating geopolitical tensions with India and heightened profit-taking. The benchmark KSE-100 Index ended at 167,752.41 points, losing 1,237.66 points, or 0.73%.
Internationally, political upheaval in Japan and France gripped currency and bond markets for a second day running on Tuesday, while global shares stuttered despite a multi-billion dollar chip-supply deal between AMD and OpenAI.
The weekend election of fiscal and monetary dove Sanae Takaichi as leader of the ruling party in Japan propelled the Nikkei to yet another record high early in the session, as her likely appointment as the country’s next premier stoked bets on a revival in big spending and loose monetary policy.
In France, the shock resignation of Sebastien Lecornu as prime minister threw the nation deeper into political crisis and unnerved markets.
French OAT futures fell slightly in the early Asian session after bonds tumbled on Monday, while the euro came under pressure and dipped 0.06% to $1.1706.
The political jolts across major economies, made no better by a U.S. government shutdown, gave investors little to cheer about, with the overall mood sombre, overshadowing enthusiasm about artificial intelligence.
Markets in Hong Kong and China were closed for a holiday. The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan swung between gains and losses to last trade flat.
This is an intra-day update
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