KARACHI:
The spell of heavy selling continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday, as the market extended last week’s sharp losses of 3,702.50 points, with investor sentiment remaining subdued amid mounting domestic uncertainties and ongoing external geopolitical concerns.
The benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an intra-day high of 185,650.60 and a low of 180,992.80. By the close, it had lost 1,789.20 points, or 0.97%, to settle at 182,340.38.
Overall, the market remained under pressure throughout the session, reflecting continued investor caution and the absence of positive triggers to arrest the prevailing bearish trend.
The benchmark index opened on a positive note; however, selling pressure quickly resurfaced, erasing early gains. Broad-based selling was witnessed across key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, and oil marketing companies.
In key news, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb shared that Pakistan had remained on track to contain and better manage public debt, extending maturities, reducing servicing costs, and undertaking early debt repayments. On the other side, Moody’s downgraded its outlook on Pakistan’s banking sector from positive to stable.
Index-heavy stocks such as Oil & Gas Development Company, Mari Energies, Pakistan Petroleum, Pakistan State Oil, Sui Southern Gas, Habib Bank, Meezan Bank, and National Bank traded in the red, exerting significant pressure on the benchmark.
Arif Habib Limited reported that continuation of selling occurred in the first session of the new week following Friday’s market activities.
KSE-100 index saw a decline, with specific stocks like Oil & Gas Development Company and Pakistan Petroleum acting as major drags on the index.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has announced plans to boost its intelligence network and deploy a special force to protect the mineral-rich Balochistan province.
Technical analysis indicated that the KSE-100 index needed to move above the 187,000 level to mitigate the threat of a downside breach of the 180-190,000 range, AHL noted.
Overall trading volume decreased to 931.3 million from previous close of 1.27 billion. The value of traded shares stood at Rs58.8b.
Shares of 481 companies were traded. Of these, 161 closed with gains, 278 dropped and 42 remained unchanged. K-Electric was the volume leader with trading in 302.5m shares, gaining Rs0.48 to close at Rs9.42.
