RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended lower on Friday as late-session profit-taking ahead of the weekend erased strong early gains driven by optimism surrounding final-stage negotiations between the United States and Iran and declining international oil prices.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index declined by 670.20 points or 0.40 percent on a day-on-day basis to close at 167,844.25 points against the previous close of 168,514.45 points. Despite ending in the red, the market remained volatile throughout the session, with the benchmark touching an intraday high of 169,624.78 points before slipping to a low of 167,480.67 points.

BRIndex100 settled at 18,414.34 points, down 94.44 points or 0.51 percent, with total traded volume of 257.69 million shares. BRIndex30 declined by 237.80 points or 0.35 percent to close at 67,360.06 points, while turnover stood at 170.40 million shares.

According to Topline Securities, the market initially remained upbeat after reports suggested that US-Iran negotiations had entered their final stage, while easing global oil prices further improved investor sentiment. However, profit-taking in key institutional stocks later reversed gains and pushed the benchmark index lower.

Topline said heavyweights including United Bank Limited, Habib Bank Limited, Lucky Cement, Engro Fertilizers and Systems Limited emerged as the major laggards, collectively shaving 354 points off the benchmark index.

Market capitalization contracted to Rs18.616 trillion from Rs18.662 trillion recorded in the previous session, reflecting a decline in aggregate investor wealth amid the day’s correction.

Trading activity also slowed considerably following Thursday’s strong rally. In the regular market, turnover declined to 480.82 million shares from 729.40 million shares in the previous session, while traded value dropped to Rs22.72 billion from Rs34.99 billion.

Market breadth remained firmly negative across trading boards. In the Ready Market, 160 companies advanced, 280 declined and 46 remained unchanged out of 486 active companies.

Trading activity remained concentrated in a handful of high-volume stocks. Sitara Petroleum led the ready market turnover chart with 80.10 million shares, closing at Rs21.16. Pervez Ahmed Co followed with 34.78 million shares and settled at Rs2.81. Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited traded 26.70 million shares to close at Rs58.85, while Hascol Petroleum recorded turnover of 22.13 million shares and ended at Rs23.15.

On the gainers’ board, Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited emerged as the top performer in the ready market, gaining Rs122.17 to close at Rs9,647.50, followed by Ismail Industries Limited, which rose by Rs48.79 to settle at Rs1,968.08.

On the losing side, Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited posted the sharpest decline, shedding Rs173.62 to close at Rs26,000.00, followed by PIA Holding Company LimitedB, which fell by Rs153.00 to settle at Rs18,147.00.

Among sectoral BR indices, the Automobile Assembler Index fell by 157.85 points or 0.59 percent to settle at 26,659.27 points with turnover of 2.12 million shares. The BR Cement Index lost 93.42 points or 0.81 percent to close at 11,442.78 points with traded volume of 15.27 million shares.

The BR Commercial Banks Index dropped 276.48 points or 0.49 percent to settle at 56,318.55 points on turnover of 31.19 million shares. Similarly, the BR Power Generation and Distribution Index declined by 104.22 points or 0.37 percent to close at 27,835.72 points with trading volume of 24.09 million shares.

The BR Oil and Gas Index lost 68.42 points or 0.45 percent to settle at 14,989.21 points with turnover of 131.43 million shares, while the BR Tech and Communication Index shed 8.40 points or 0.22 percent to close at 3,773.27 points on trading volume of 66.40 million shares.

Market participants are expected to remain focused on geopolitical developments in the Middle East during the coming week, as progress in US-Iran diplomatic engagements and movements in international oil prices are likely to remain the primary drivers of sentiment at the local bourse.