Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) expanded its losing row to a third consecutive session on Wednesday, with the Benchmark KSE-100 index witnessing sharp fluctuations throughout the day.
Trade opened on a positive note and pushed the index to an intra-day height of 166,947.19. Sale of pressure mounted later and draws the index to a low level of 165,109.84. By the end, the KSE-100 index had fallen 907 points, or 0.55%, to settle down at 165,266.75.
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Ktrade Securities Equity Trader Ahmed Sheraz said the decline was driven by investor problems after the State Bank of Pakistan stated that a political rate cut is unlikely in the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. “This turmoil is further aggravated by increased control from the International Monetary Fund as part of its ongoing review,” he added.
Heavyweight warehouses such as United Bank, Fauji Fertilizer, Lucky Cement and Mari Energi’s weigh the index, while Tech Stock Systems Limited (SYS) and Bank Alfalah delivered some respite.
Market activity remained strong. “Market direction is expected to remain closely linked to geopolitical development and the result of the ongoing IMF review – both will play a critical role in the design of investor mood,” noted Sheraz.
ARIF HABIB LIMITED (AHL) observed that the market’s lack of recycling of 167,200 points Wednesday will set the next area of interest between 163,800 and 164,200 points.
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A total of 33 shares increased, 67 fell, with systems (+6.11%), Bank Alfalah (+4.04%) and MCB Bank (+1.27%), which contributes most to gains. On the other hand, United Bank (-3.3%), Fauji fertilizer (-1.48%) and lucky cement (-2.67%) were the biggest features.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported that Pakistan’s GDP expanded 3.04% in FY25, while the government is projecting a 4.2% growth for FY26.
Trade volumes rose up to 1.27 billion shares from Tuesday’s 1.266 billion with a total value of RS61.1 billion. Shares of 484 companies changed hands, with 148 closing higher, 297 lower and 39 remaining unchanged.
PTCL led the VolumendiAragram and traded 114.4 million shares and got RS2.23 to close on RS33.37.
