Stocks fall as selling pressure persists | The Express Tribune

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) endured another volatile session on Tuesday, where the benchmark KSE-100 index shed 1,579 points, or 0.94%. After opening on a positive note, the index touched the intra-day high of 168,519, but selling pressure emerged immediately, dragging the market down.

The index hit the intra-day low of 165,997 towards the end of trading. Tuesday’s decline marked the second consecutive session of losses, following a 0.73% drop on Monday. Despite early optimism, investors remained cautious, leading to profit-taking in key sectors. The index appears to be in a consolidation phase, hovering around key support zones.

Arif Habib Limited (AHL) remarked that selling pressure persisted for the second session, when the KSE-100 traded down to Monday’s low of 166k. Some 26 shares rose while 73 fell with HBL (+3.56%), Engro Fertilisers (+1.54%) and Askari Bank (+3.85%) contributing the most to index gains. On the flip side, Hub Power (-3.75%), Engro Holdings (-2.7%) and Lucky Cement (-3.09%) were the biggest drags, it said.

Among economic news, AHL mentioned, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor sees inflation holding steady, although further interest rate cuts will depend on the impact of recent floods and the outcome of ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) review. For the index, 166k is emerging as a key level and it will need to immediately regain 167.2k to target the 170k mark, AHL added.

KTrade Securities, in its market wrap, noted that the PSX concluded another volatile session in negative territory as the benchmark KSE-100 index lost 1,579 points (-0.94%) to close at 166,174. The decline was driven by rising geopolitical tensions with India and ongoing economic concerns, particularly in the context of IMF review and fiscal scrutiny.

Heavyweight stocks from sectors such as power, energy, cement, fertiliser and oil & gas exploration were among the major contributors to the downside. Despite the market-wide sell-off, investor sentiment remained cautiously optimistic, with many participants staying engaged in anticipation of clarity on macroeconomic developments, KTrade said.

Topline Securities commented that following Monday’s downbeat momentum, bears kept their firm control in Tuesday’s session as well. The KSE-100 index opened on a positive note, with bulls charging ahead to push the market up by 766 points. However, the optimism was short-lived as selling pressure intensified midway through the day.

The index nosedived to the intra-day low of 1,755 points before eventually settling at 166,174, down 1,579 points. It attributed the negative close mainly to heavy profit-taking by local institutions, which overshadowed early gains and dragged the market into the red.

The decline was driven by losses in Hub Power, Engro Holdings, Lucky Cement, Mari Energies and UBL, which pulled the index down by 986 points. Partial support came from HBL, Engro Fertilisers, Askari Bank and Allied Bank, which contributed 380 points, Topline stated. JS Global analyst Mohammed Waqar Iqbal said that the benchmark index remained under pressure and faced volatility as profit-taking continued to impact the market.

Overall trading volumes slightly decreased to 1.266 billion shares from Monday’s tally of 1.274 billion. The value of shares traded stood at Rs54.2 billion. The PSX announced on X that on Tuesday, 54% of the total traded value was in Shariah-compliant stocks.

Shares of 487 companies were traded. Of these, 183 closed higher, 267 fell and 37 remained unchanged.

PTCL was the volume leader with trading in 180.6 million shares, falling Rs0.27 to close at Rs31.14. It was followed by The Bank of Punjab with 134.7 million shares, rising Rs0.62 to close at Rs35.08 and Cnergyico PK with 90.7 million shares, edging down Rs0.03 to close at Rs8.76. Foreign investors sold shares worth Rs614 million, the National Clearing Company reported.