RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a sharp downturn on Thursday as investors engaged in profit-taking after a strong rally earlier in the week.

Persistent selling across major sectors dragged the benchmark KSE-100 Index below the 165,000-point mark. The index declined by 1,962.87 points, or 1.18 percent, to close at 164,590.41 points, compared with 166,553.28 points recorded a day earlier. The index fluctuated between an intraday high of 166,720 points and a low of 164,395 points.

On Thursday, BRIndex100 closed at 17,287.46, reflecting a decrease of 167.96 points or 0.96 percent from the previous close, with a total volume of 1,273.59 million shares. Similarly, BRIndex30 closed at 55,347.19, down 1,045.93 points or 1.85 percent, with 800.82 million shares traded, showing the day’s broad-based selling pressure.

According to a market review by Topline Securities, the trading session remained volatile, mirroring mixed investor sentiment, as profit-taking intensified ahead of the upcoming rollover week. Topline noted that the decline was further compounded by disappointing financial results from Bank Al Habib (BAHL) and Bank Alfalah (BAFL), which dampened investor confidence. Major laggards including BAHL, HMB, LUCK, HUBC, and ENGRO collectively erased around 1,019 points from the benchmark index.

Total market capitalization contracted to Rs18.99 trillion, from Rs19.21 trillion a session earlier, reflecting notable losses in listed equities. The ready market turnover fell slightly to 1.50 billion shares, compared with 1.57 billion shares traded in the previous session, while traded value declined to Rs49.52 billion from Rs55.06 billion.

Out of 474 active companies, 147 closed higher, 291 declined, and 36 remained unchanged, reflecting clear selling dominance.

Trading activity was dominated by small-cap and low-priced stocks. WorldCall Telecom Ltd. led the volume chart with 162.20 million shares, closing marginally higher at Rs2.09. K-Electric Ltd. followed with 138.23 million shares, declining to Rs6.08. Telecard Ltd. remained active, trading 90.64 million shares to close slightly higher at Rs13.26.

Among notable gainers, Rafhan Maize Products Co. Ltd. gained Rs218.07 to close at Rs9,680.91, while Unilever Pakistan Foods Ltd. rose Rs188.26 to settle at Rs29,888.26. On the losing side, PIA Holding Company Ltd.-B fell sharply by Rs998.70 to close at Rs25,000.10, while Supernet Technologies Ltd. dropped Rs91.02 to finish at Rs1,589.40.

In sectoral performance, the BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 25,034.84, down 198.22 points or 0.79 percent, with a total turnover of 3.57 million shares. The BR Cement Index fell 246.91 points or 1.88 percent to 12,872.17, on 30.11 million shares.

The BR Commercial Banks Index dropped 1,082.38 points or 2.10 percent to 50,525.86, with 163.97 million shares traded. The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index declined 375.02 points or 1.33 percent to 27,913.12, with 146.84 million shares.

The BR Oil and Gas Index slipped 115.82 points or 0.80 percent to 14,294.02, on 45.27 million shares, while the BR Technology and Communication Index decreased 80.06 points or 1.98 percent to 3,965.12, with a turnover of 324.78 million shares.

Despite the overall decline, market activity remained resilient, with healthy participation ahead of the futures rollover week. Analysts observed that the session reflected a normal correction phase after a sustained upward rally earlier in the week.