RECORDER REVIEW

KARACHI: Trading activity in the futures market of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) weakened significantly during the week ended March 13, as investor sentiment remained cautious amid persistent volatility in the benchmark index and growing geopolitical and macroeconomic concerns.

The futures spread dropped to negative 19.13 percent during the week compared with a positive 5.02 percent recorded in the previous week, marking a steep contraction of 2,415 basis points. The reversal in spread indicated aggressive unwinding of leveraged positions and a shift toward defensive strategies by market participants as the broader equity market continued to decline.

Average daily traded volume in the derivatives segment fell to 96.49 million shares, down from 133.15 million shares recorded in the previous week. This represented a 27.5 percent decline in activity, underscoring the cautious approach adopted by investors in light of rising uncertainty and declining equity prices.

Similarly, the average daily traded value in the futures market decreased to Rs5.72 billion, compared with Rs6.59 billion in the preceding week, reflecting a 13.2 percent drop in the value of contracts traded.