Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a session of intense volatility on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 1,000 points as investors resorted to profit-taking.
Trading opened on a weak note, with the index slipping sharply in the early hours. This was followed by a midday recovery, where buying interest pushed the market to an intra-day high of 187,905.
However, the rebound failed and selling pressure resurfaced, which intensified sharply in the last hour of trading amid profit-taking, dragging the benchmark index to an intra-day low of 185,199.36.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 185,543.01, a decrease of 975.70 points or 0.52%.
“The pullback appeared largely technical in nature, suggesting consolidation rather than a shift in the broader bullish trend following the recent stellar rally,” said Topline Securities, in its post-market commentary.
“On the positive side, AICL, NBP, PAEL, FFC, and MARI collectively added 384 points to the index. These gains, however, were outweighed by declines in ENGROH, UBL, MEBL, SYS, and PPL, which together erased 986 points from the benchmark,” it added.
On Wednesday, the PSX extended its bullish run as sustained buying interest propelled the benchmark index to a fresh all-time high, supported by broad-based sectoral participation. The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 1,456.61 points, or 0.79%, to close at a record 186,518.72 points.
Globally, oil prices steadied on Thursday after their recent slide, while stocks were off to a rocky start as investors assessed the implications of deepening geopolitical tensions and mixed US labour market data.
Top US officials said on Wednesday the country needs to control Venezuela’s oil sales and revenue indefinitely to stabilise the latter’s economy, rebuild its oil sector and ensure it acts in America’s interests.
That came as the US seized two Venezuela-linked oil tankers in the Atlantic Ocean the same day, one sailing under Russia’s flag, as part of President Donald Trump’s aggressive push to dictate oil flows in the Americas.
Developments in Venezuela continue to dominate headlines following the toppling of Nicolas Maduro, with most of the market reaction thus far playing out in commodities.
Elsewhere, stocks were mixed in the Asian session, following a strong start to the New Year that lifted markets to fresh highs despite geopolitical fractures globally.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan swung between losses and gains while Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.74%.
Nasdaq futures eased 0.02%, while S&P 500 futures ticked up 0.05%. European futures traded lower.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered a slight improvement against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the local currency settled at 280.05, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 1,433.9 million from 1,329.5 million recorded in the previous close. The value of shares improved to Rs91.34 billion from Rs86.59 billion in the previous session.
Agha Steel Industries was the volume leader with 131.88 million shares, followed by Pak Elektron with 76.29 million shares, and Hascol Petrol with 59.91 million shares.
Shares of 481 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 209 registered an increase, 245 recorded a fall, and 27 remained unchanged.
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