Business
PSX turns red as profit-taking drags KSE-100 down 793 points | The Express Tribune
Overall trading volume declined to 1.56 billion shares compared with 1.82 billion day earlier
The Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed a notable shift in momentum as early gains faded amid aggressive profit-taking during the closing hours, dragging the benchmark KSE-100 index deep into the red by the end of trading.
The session began on a bullish note on Wednesday, buoyed by encouraging corporate earnings and signs of macroeconomic stability. This initial optimism pushed the KSE-100 up by more than 500 points soon after the opening bell, with the index peaking at 168,163.22, its highest level of the day.
However, momentum fizzled as trading progressed. The market entered a sluggish phase, moving sideways for several hours before bearish sentiment took over in the final stretch. A wave of selling — mainly from investors locking in gains — sent the index tumbling to an intra-day low of 166,230.89.
By the close, the KSE-100 had shed 793.56 points, settling at 166,553.28, down 0.47% from the previous day.
Analysts attributed the late-session dip to profit-booking ahead of key economic data releases and possible political developments expected to influence investor sentiment in the coming days. While Wednesday’s sell-off reflected caution, the strong opening suggested underlying investor confidence — a tug-of-war likely to define short-term market trends.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in its report, noted that “consolidation into support bodes well for additional gains for the rest of the week.”
Among individual stocks, 38 shares rose while 58 declined. Pakistan Petroleum (+3.21%), Oil and Gas Development Company (+0.87%), and PSX (+5.7%) were the biggest contributors to index gains. In contrast, Fauji Fertiliser (-2.1%), United Bank (-1.11%), and MCB Bank (-1.47%) were the main drags.
In major news, QatarEnergy officials are set to visit Pakistan next week to finalise Islamabad’s request to reduce gas shipments for next year amid weaker demand. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) approved changes to PSX rules, making it mandatory for companies to hold corporate briefings on their annual financial results.
Ghandhara Automobiles (-2.13%) reported 1QFY26 EPS of -Rs29.33, a year-on-year increase of 178%, in line with expectations. Similarly, MCB Bank (-1.47%) posted 9MCY25 EPS of Rs37.42, down 16% YoY, along with a DPS of Rs27, also matching projections.
AHL anticipated support around the 166,000-point level to hold, expecting renewed buying interest to push the index higher in the coming sessions.
Overall trading volume declined to 1.56 billion shares compared with 1.82 billion a day earlier, while the value of traded shares stood at Rs55.06 billion. A total of 476 companies were traded, of which 203 closed higher, 232 fell, and 41 remained unchanged. K-Electric led volumes with 241 million shares, down Rs0.30 to close at Rs6.21.
Oil prices jumped on Tuesday as Donald Trump weighed Iran’s latest proposal to end the war.
The US president is unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal, a US official said on Monday. Iranian sources disclosed that Tehran’s proposal avoided addressing its nuclear programme until hostilities cease and Gulf shipping disputes are resolved.
Trump’s displeasure with the Iranian offer leaves the conflict deadlocked, with Iran shutting shipping flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries supply equal to about 20 per cent of global oil and gas consumption, and the US keeping in place its blockade of Iranian ports.
Brent crude rose to $108.13 per barrel, hovering near a three-week high, while US West Texas Intermediate went up to $96.48.
Both benchmarks are well above pre-war levels. Brent was trading at $72 before the US-Israeli war on Iran began on 28 February.
Asian stocks were broadly subdued at the opening. While MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.12 per cent, hovering near the record high it touched on Monday, Nikkei fell 0.5 per cent.
The S&P 500 eked out modest gains on Monday and was on course for a nearly 10 per cent gain for April. US stock futures were 0.1 per cent higher in Asian hours.
Indian shares are set to open lower on Tuesday, with GIFT Nifty futures pointing to the benchmark Nifty 50 opening below Monday’s close of 24,092.70. Both Nifty and Sensex snapped a three-session losing run on Monday, led by a rebound in technology stocks, but the broader momentum remained constrained by unresolved tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.
Elevated oil prices are a particular headwind for India, the world’s third-largest crude importer, heightening inflation risks, pressuring economic growth and widening the country’s import bill.
Foreign portfolio investors offloaded domestic stocks worth Rs 11.5bn ($122m) on Monday, extending their selling streak to a sixth straight session.
Vessel crossings showed signs of recovery over the weekend, according to the maritime intelligence firm Windward, but analysts warned increased movement was yet to translate into a surge in oil and gas flows.
Iran reportedly offered to end its blockade of the waterway without addressing its nuclear programme, passing the proposal to Washington through Pakistani mediators. But Mr Trump has made ending Iran’s atomic programme a condition for any deal.
Central banks are also in focus this week, with the Bank of Japan, the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, and the European Central Bank all due to announce policy decisions. All are expected to hold rates steady, but markets will be watching closely for signals about how policymakers plan to respond to the inflationary pressure from the war.
“The BOJ is likely to stay highly sensitive to market volatility,” Fred Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC, told Reuters. “Our base case remains one single 25 basis point hike this year in July, but a June rate rise becomes more likely if the Strait of Hormuz is still effectively closed after mid-May.”
The General Motors global headquarters at Hudson’s Detroit in Detroit, Michigan, US, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.
Jeff Kowalsky | Bloomberg | Getty Images
DETROIT – General Motors is set to report its first-quarter earnings before the bell Tuesday.
Here’s what Wall Street is expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $2.62 adjusted
- Revenue: $43.68 billion
Those results would mark a roughly 1% decline in revenue compared with a year earlier and a 5.8% decrease in adjusted earnings per share.
GM’s 2025 first-quarter results included $44.02 billion in revenue, net income attributable to stockholders of $2.78 billion, and adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $3.49 billion.
Aside from earnings and any changes to the automaker’s 2026 guidance, investors will be monitoring effects from the Iran war, tariff impacts and additional charges related to the automaker’s pullback in all-electric vehicles.
After announcing $7.6 billion in EV write-downs last year, the automaker said it expected additional charges but at a lower level than in 2025.
GM’s 2026 earnings guidance is better than its expectations and results from last year. It includes net income attributable to stockholders of between $10.3 billion and $11.7 billion; adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $13 billion to $15 billion; and EPS of between $11 and $13 for the year.
Mumbai: RBI has required banks to report all foreign exchange derivative deals involving the rupee undertaken in India and globally by their entire group, including overseas branches, subsidiaries, and parent entities. This brings into view offshore trades that were earlier largely invisible. This applies to both OTC deliverable and offshore non-deliverable contracts, meaning even speculative offshore bets on the rupee must now be disclosed. Banks now must report detailed transaction data-size, counterparty, maturity, and structure-no later than two working days, though trades below $1 million and certain already-reported or internal hedging transactions are exempt.
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