RECORDER REVIEW

KARACHI: The futures market at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed notable volatility during the week ended June 20, 2025, with the futures spread increasing sharply by 391 basis points. The spread settled at 12.30 percent on the final trading session of the week, up considerably from 7.31 percent recorded in the preceding week, signalling heightened risk premiums and growing investor caution.

In parallel, average daily trading volumes on the futures counter surged by an impressive 74.1 percent on a week-on-week basis, rising to 353.90 million shares, compared to 203.27 million shares traded in the previous week. This surge in activity reflects increased speculative interest and short-term positioning by market participants amid uncertain geopolitical and economic conditions.

However, in contrast to the rising volumes, the average daily traded value on the futures counter declined by 14.8 percent, closing the week at Rs 9.60 billion, down from Rs 11.27 billion a week earlier. The divergence between rising volumes and falling value suggests that trading was largely concentrated in low-priced and speculative counters only as investors avoided making sizable commitments in high-value stocks amid prevailing market uncertainty.