RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a broadly negative trading session on Tuesday, with major indices, sectoral benchmarks, and futures contracts closing lower amid persistent profit-taking.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index fell 419.92 points to close at 167,642.28, down 0.25 percent from the previous day’s close of 168,062.19 points. The index touched an intraday high of 169,289.22 before succumbing to selling pressure and slipping to 167,445.93.

The BRIndex100 closed at 17,678.24, down 94.74 points or 0.53 percent, with a total traded volume of 637.46 million shares. The BRIndex30 also retreated, closing at 56,234.07, losing 483.17 points or 0.85 percent, with a total volume of 440.49 million shares.

Market insights attributed to Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, indicated that although the session began on a jubilant note, heavy profit-taking soon overwhelmed early optimism. He observed that significant selling in major blue-chip stocks—including FFC, PPL, HUBC, SYS, ENGROH, OGDC, UBL, MCB, PSO and TRG — collectively dragged the benchmark by nearly 792 points, ultimately contributing to the 420-point decline at the close.

In the Ready Market, 254 companies closed in the negative compared with 182 gainers, while 43 remained unchanged out of the 479 actively traded counters.

Overall market activity presented mixed signals. Ready Market turnover increased to 775.54 million shares from 735.52 million, yet traded value fell sharply to Rs37.49 billion from Rs46.18 billion, suggesting heavier activity in lower-priced stocks.

Market capitalization slipped slightly to Rs19.031 trillion on Tuesday as compared to Rs19.032 trillion on Monday.

In the most actively traded stocks, WorldCall Telecom led with 169.05 million shares, closing at Rs1.80. K-Electric followed with 40.60 million shares, ending at Rs5.57. F. Nat. Equities, PIBTL, PTCL, Bank of Punjab, Pace (Pakistan), Bank Makramah, Beco Steel, and Hum Network all recorded substantial volumes, reflecting concentrated retail trading interest.

Among major price movers, Hoechst Pakistan Limited surged Rs47.09 to close at Rs4,304.11, while Ismail Industries Limited gained Rs40.05 to settle at Rs1,981.43. In contrast, PIA Holding Company Limited-B saw the steepest decline of the session, falling Rs256 to Rs24,100, followed by Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited, which dropped Rs86.69 to Rs9,303.31.

The BR Automobile Assembler Index slightly edged up to 24,585.05, gaining 10.41 points or 0.04 percent, with 7.53 million shares traded. The BR Cement Index posted a stronger rise, closing at 13,541.85, up 134.93 points or 1.01 percent, with a turnover of 42.93 million shares.

The BR Commercial Banks Index also finished higher at 49,587.17, rising 114.25 points or 0.23 percent, on 78.13 million shares. However, declines dominated the BR Power Generation and Distribution Index that fell to 26,367.78, shedding 335.39 points or 1.26 percent, with 56.05 million shares traded.

The BR Oil and Gas Index also slipped to 14,312.49, down 143.61 points or 0.99 percent, on 41.25 million shares. Meanwhile, the BR Technology & Communication Index posted a sharper drop of 79.14 points, or 1.98 percent, to close at 3,925.53, despite being one of the highest-volume sectors with 231.47 million shares exchanged.

Analysts noted that despite active participation in several high-volume counters, the PSX failed to stage a meaningful recovery as widespread selling in blue-chip stocks continued to weigh on overall sentiment. With no fresh catalysts to uplift confidence, the market ended Tuesday’s session firmly in negative territory.