RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another negative session on Friday as investor sentiment remained under pressure following the government’s decision to withdraw fuel subsidies, triggering a sharp increase in petroleum prices and reinforcing a cautious outlook across the market.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 150,398.71 points, registering a decline of 1,612.55 points or 1.06 percent compared with the previous close of 152,011.26 points. The index remained under pressure throughout the trading session, moving within an intraday high of 152,103.63 points and a low of 148,796.55 points, reflecting continued selling interest across multiple sectors.

The BRIndex100 closed at 16,721.22 points, down 153.22 points or 0.91 percent, with total traded volume of 396.59 million shares, while the BRIndex30 settled at 57,551.20 points, declining by 371.16 points or 0.64 percent, with turnover recorded at 304.54 million shares.

According to Topline Securities, the market extended its losses following the government’s announcement to end fuel subsidies, under which diesel prices were increased by 55 percent and petrol prices by 43 percent, significantly dampening investor confidence. The report noted that this development intensified inflationary concerns and weighed heavily on sentiment, prompting investors to adopt a risk-averse stance.

Major negative contributions to the index came from heavyweight stocks including United Bank, Engro Holdings, Fauji Fertilizer Company, Systems Limited, and Lucky Cement, which cumulatively eroded approximately 1,100 points from the benchmark index.

Market activity showed mixed trends, with total traded volume in the ready market increasing to 471.94 million shares compared with 352.27 million shares in the previous session, while traded value improved to Rs24.64 billion from Rs19.51 billion, indicating selective participation despite the overall negative sentiment. However, market capitalization continued to decline, falling to Rs16.72 trillion from Rs16.88 trillion, reflecting a loss during the session.

Market breadth remained negative, with 132 companies closing higher, 279 declining, and 72 remaining unchanged out of a total of 483 traded companies in the ready market, highlighting the dominance of sellers.

Among volume leaders, Cnergyico PK once again dominated the market with 97.20 million shares, closing at Rs7.45. WorldCall Telecom followed with 28.34 million shares, closing at Rs1.18, while Pak Refinery recorded 24.21 million shares, settling at Rs32.90.

BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 21,836.45 points, down 460.01 points or 2.06 percent, with turnover of 1.58 million shares. The BR Cement Index declined by 209.13 points or 2.05 percent to settle at 9,969.08 points, with volume of 19.08 million shares, while the BR Commercial Banks Index slipped 336.43 points or 0.64 percent to close at 51,992.01 points, with 39.58 million shares traded.

The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index eased 135.03 points or 0.54 percent to 24,798.56 points, with turnover of 39.28 million shares, while the BR Oil and Gas Index remained relatively stable but still edged lower by 5.44 points or 0.04 percent to close at 13,263.48 points, with volume of 37.53 million shares. The BR Tech and Communication Index posted a sharper decline, falling 80.21 points or 2.37 percent to 3,308.57 points, with turnover of 84.02 million shares.

Overall, the session reflected sustained pressure on the local bourse as macroeconomic concerns linked to rising fuel prices and inflation, combined with lingering geopolitical uncertainty, continued to weigh on investor sentiment, with market participants expected to remain cautious in the near term.