Selling pressure dominated the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 shedding over 2,500 points on Thursday.
The benchmark index observed a strong intraday correction, with sellers dominating trading, pushing the index to an intraday low of 178,725.24.
A partial rebound late in the day provided some support, but the index still closed in the red, signalling cautious investor sentiment.
At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 180,512.64, a decrease of 2,537.16 points or 1.39%.
“Selling is mainly due to security risks highlighted around the Reko Diq project, which have raised concerns about timelines and funding,” Saad Hanif, Head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, told media.
“Additionally, some sector-specific results have come in weak and below expectations, leading to a trickle-down effect,” he added.
The Saudi government has dispatched a high-level delegation to Pakistan to explore avenues of cooperation in various sectors, apparently to finalise a priority agenda ahead of the expected visit of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
Currently, Ibrahim Al-Mubarak, Assistant Minister of Investment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is in Islamabad, while another delegation from the office of Mohammad Al-Tuwaijri, Advisor at the Royal Court and Chair of the Pak–KSA Task Force, is also visiting Pakistan to conduct a final review workshop of all sectoral working groups to finalise the SP-ECF framework.
On Wednesday, the PSX closed on a cautiously positive note as selective buying in key sectors helped benchmark indices recover earlier losses. The benchmark KSE-100 Index extended gains for a second consecutive session, rising by 896.25 points, or 0.49%, to close at 183,049.81 points.
Internationally, Asian stocks rose to a record high on Thursday, while the dollar firmed a touch against most currencies except the yen after stronger-than-expected US jobs data dented near-term rate cut expectations, setting the stage for the inflation report on Friday.
Stocks in South Korea and Japan hit record highs in early trading, lifted by the technology sector. Japanese shares have been on a tear since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s resounding election victory over the weekend on a campaign of increased economic stimulus.
That has pushed MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares to another all-time peak. The index was 0.65% higher, taking its gains in the first six weeks of the year to about 13%.
Market focus this week is on a slew of US economic reports with the data on Wednesday showing job growth unexpectedly accelerated in January, while the unemployment rate eased a touch, in signs of labour market stability that could encourage the Federal Reserve to leave rates unchanged in the near term.
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