KSE-100 drops more than 1,300 points in midday trade amid broad selling

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) faced renewed selling pressure on Wednesday, wiping out early gains as investors turned cautious during the session.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index opened in positive territory on the back of initial buying, but profit-taking emerged before midday and pushed the market lower. By 1:29pm, the index had fallen to 167,054.08, down 1,358.15 points, or 0.81%, from the previous close.

During intraday trade, the benchmark shed more than 1,100 points at its lowest level, reflecting continued pressure across the market. Losses were seen in a range of key sectors, with heavyweight commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies, power generation firms and refineries all trading in negative territory.

Trading activity remained relatively firm despite the decline, with volumes crossing 256 million shares. Even so, the overall tone of the market stayed weak as investors moved to lock in gains amid uncertainty. The session marked a reversal from the early positive trend, with market participants watching economic and sector-specific developments closely till the filing of the report.

Previous session closed lower after rate hike

Tuesday’s session had also ended in the red after a 100-basis-point increase in the policy rate hurt investor sentiment. Investors were concerned that tighter monetary policy by the central bank could affect business activity.

In Tuesday’s trade, the KSE-100 Index touched an intraday high of 169,314 and a low of 168,171 before settling at 168,412.23, down 1,085.12 points, or 0.64%.

Stocks remained under pressure from the opening bell, extending the bearish momentum from the previous session in what was described as an otherwise quiet trading environment. Investors continued to assess the impact of the State Bank’s decision to raise its policy rate by 100 basis points.

Selling pressure persisted in sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies and power generation, which pulled the benchmark lower.

Arif Habib Limited, in its market report, said the spillover effect of the larger-than-expected interest rate increase kept equities under pressure throughout the day.

Among the stocks on the benchmark index on Tuesday, 29 advanced while 70 declined. Engro Holdings, up 0.97%, Pakistan Tobacco, up 8.52%, and Pakistan Oilfields, up 1.39%, contributed the most to gains. On the losing side, UBL, down 2.25%, Fauji Fertiliser Company, down 1.5%, and Pakistan Petroleum, down 1.36%, weighed the most on the index.