RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on the first trading day of the week closed lower due to ongoing geopolitical tensions.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index fell 1,405.45 points, or 1.22 percent to close at 114,064 points on Monday compared to 115,469.35 points on Friday. Share trading volume at the ready counter also declined, falling to 424 million shares from 471 million shares in the previous session.

Analysts said that Monday’s trading session witnessed a classic tug-of-war between bulls and bears. The index opened on a positive note, gaining strong momentum in the early hours to register an intraday high of 1,189 points. However, the optimism proved short-lived, as intensified selling pressure later in the session caused the index to reverse sharply, touching an intraday low of 1,601 points.

On Monday, BRIndex100 opened at 12,309.46 points and finally closed at 12,065.49 points, which was 243.97 points or 1.98 percent lower than previous close. Total volume at BRIndex100 was 338.268 million shares. BRIndex30 also lost 943.26 points to settle at 35,766.24 points with a total volume of 200 million shares.

Similarly, the total traded value on the ready counter fell to Rs 26.4 billion down from Rs27.3 billion in the previous session. The market capitalization also decreased by Rs 204 billion toRs 13.892 trillion. Out of 449 active scrips, 93 closed in positive and 313 in negative while the value of 43 stocks remained unchanged.

Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp said that stocks fell across the board as investor eye heightened geo political tensions after India suspension of Indus Water Treaty and stalled bilateral trade. Concerns over deteriorating Pak-India trade ties and cross border tensions played catalyst role in bearish close at PSX, he added.

B.O.Punjab was the volume leader with 24 million shares and closed at Rs 9.30followed by Power Cement that closed at Rs 13.29 with 21.5 million shares. WorldCall Telecom ranked third with share trading of 18.3 million shares and it closed at Rs 1.26.

PIA Holding Company LimitedB and Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited the top gainers increasing by Rs 326.25 and Rs 260.00 respectively to close at Rs 3,608.54 and Rs 23,161.00,while Sazgar Engineering Works Limited and Sapphire Textile Mills Limited were the top losers declining by Rs 50.25 and Rs 47.20 respectively to close at Rs 1,309.74 and Rs1,055.70.

Analysts said the prevailing negative sentiment was largely driven by escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, which heightened investor concerns and weighed heavily on overall market confidence.

On the positive side, SYS, LUCK, MEBL, and HBL collectively contributed 489 points to the index. Conversely, the bulk of the negative impact came from ENGROH, UBL, MARI, EFERT, and PSO, which together shaved off 907 points from the benchmark.

BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 22,179.79 points, recording a net decline of 487.23 points, or 2.15 percent, with a total turnover of 4.454 million shares.BR Cement Index ended the session at 9,345.73points, posting a significant loss of 4,970.46 points, or 34.72 percent, on a total turnover of 67.867 million shares.

BR Commercial Banks Index settled at 32,916.81points, down 284.13 points, or 0.86 percent, with a total turnover of 45.054 million shares.BR Power Generation and Distribution Index closed at 19,472.33points, marking a decrease of 113.15 points, or 0.58 percent, with a total turnover of 19.345 million shares.

BR Oil and Gas Index finished at 11,098.80points, falling by 279.81 points, or 2.46 percent, with a total turnover of 41 million shares.BR Technology & Communication Index closed higher at 4,813.45points, gaining 129.84 points, or 2.77 percent, with a total turnover of 43.634 million shares.