RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a sharp reversal on Thursday as widespread selling pressure across key sectors dragged benchmark indices significantly lower, erasing the strong gains recorded in the previous session and reflecting heightened volatility in the market.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 172,170.29 points compared with the previous close of 178,853.10 points, registering a steep decline of 6,682.81 points or 3.74 percent. During the session, the index moved within a wide band, touching an intraday high of 179,279.74 points before plunging to a low of 171,647.34 points, indicating intense selling pressure as the day progressed.

On Thursday, BRIndex100 closed at 19,208.67 points, down 895.52 points or 4.45 percent compared with the previous close, with a total traded volume of 404.84 million shares. Similarly, BRIndex30 settled at 68,852.66 points, declining by 3,780.42 points or 5.20 percent, with total volume recorded at 310.67 million shares.

Commenting on the session, Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib, said in his Market Review, that bleeding resumed after a day’s gap as the PSX came under intense selling pressure. He noted that the sharp decline erased the gains from the previous session’s rebound and reinforced the fragile undertone prevailing in the market. He stated that investor sentiment deteriorated markedly amid escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, as renewed hostilities heightened global uncertainty.

He further pointed out that international oil prices have surged over 6 percent in the past two days, a development particularly negative for Pakistan given its status as a net oil-importing economy, adding that the spike in crude prices amplified macroeconomic concerns and further strained already weak market confidence.

Ali Najib added that FFC, ENGROH, UBL, OGDC, PPL, MEBL, LUCK, MCB, HUBC and SYS bore the brunt of likely institutional selling, collectively dragging the index down by 3,037 points. He observed that the KSE-100 index failed to hold the 173,000 level amid persistent selling pressure, signaling further weakening in near-term sentiment.

Market capitalization contracted sharply to Rs19.514 trillion from Rs20.227 trillion in the previous session, reflecting a loss of approximately Rs713 billion in investor wealth in a single day.

Trading activity in the Ready Market slowed compared to the previous session. Total turnover stood at 542.98 million shares, down from 697.68 million shares, while traded value declined to Rs27.36 billion from Rs49.99 billion, indicating reduced liquidity amid heavy selling.

Market breadth remained decisively negative. In the Ready Market, out of 483 traded companies, only 32 advanced while 384 declined and 67 remained unchanged.

Among the most actively traded stocks in the Ready Market, WorldCall Telecom led with a volume of 84.18 million shares and closed at Rs1.40. K-Electric Limited followed with 62.01 million shares, closing at Rs7.85. Trust Securities & Brokerage (R) recorded a turnover of 45.87 million shares and closed sharply lower at Rs0.64.

On the gaining side, Dawood Lawrencepur Limited advanced by Rs25.88 to close at Rs668.89, while Shahmurad Sugar Mills Limited gained Rs20.90 to settle at Rs399.93. However, heavy losses were recorded among high-priced stocks as PIA Holding Company Limited (B) declined sharply by Rs1,758.34 to close at Rs16,576.66, and Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited fell by Rs627.21 to settle at Rs26,027.79.

Among the sectoral indices, the BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 26,815.83 points, registering a net decline of 583.27 points or 2.13 percent, with total turnover of 1.80 billion shares. The BR Cement Index ended at 12,268.23 points, down 614.81 points or 4.77 percent, on a turnover of 17.56 million shares.

The BR Commercial Banks Index closed at 60,344.80 points, posting a loss of 2,188.22 points or 3.50 percent, with total turnover of 55.66 million shares. The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index settled at 27,642.33 points, falling by 1,115.22 points or 3.88 percent, with turnover reaching 87.43 million shares.

The BR Oil and Gas Index closed at 14,175.80 points, down 618.08 points or 4.18 percent, with a total turnover of 38.31 million shares. Meanwhile, the BR Tech & Communication Index ended at 3,657.20 points, recording a decline of 199.94 points or 5.18 percent, with total turnover of 112.85 million shares.

Overall, Thursday’s session reflected broad-based selling across sectors, heavy losses in major indices, a sharp contraction in market capitalization, overwhelming declines across both the Ready and futures segments, and steep drops in all major BR sectoral indices, underscoring deteriorating investor sentiment at the Pakistan Stock Exchange.