Selling pressure returns, KSE-100 plunges 3,790 points on profit-taking

It was a day of massive selling at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), as investors resorted to profit-taking with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing at just over 111,000 level, amid a historic single-day loss of 3,790 points on Wednesday.

The bourse witnessed a volatile session, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index hit an intra-day high of 116,236.70, during the opening hours of trading.

However, market participants soon resorted to profit-booking, which persisted throughout the trading session, dragging the KSE-100 to an intra-day low of 110,896.27.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 111,070.29, a decrease of 3,790.39 points or 3.3%.

This is KSE-100’s “largest single-day decline in its history,” said Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in a note.

Across-the-board selling was witnessed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, PRL, NRL, SSGC, SNGP, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, ENGRO, HBL, MCB, MEBL and UBL settled in red.

Experts attributed the selling pressure to profit-taking.

Earlier, buying momentum was observed which came on the back of improved economic indicators and a reduction in policy rate, which has diverted liquidity to the equities.

In a key development, Pakistan’s current account posted a surplus of $729 million in November 2024 compared to a deficit of $148 million in the same month of the previous year, data released on Tuesday by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed.

This was the fourth consecutive month of a current account surplus.

On Tuesday, the PSX witnessed a volatile session as the benchmark KSE-100 Index fell over 1,300 to settle at 114,860.68.

Globally, stocks stalled while the dollar drifted higher on Wednesday as investors made last-minute adjustments to portfolios in the countdown to the year’s final salvo of central bank meetings, while news of a potential Nissan-Honda tie-up lifted car stocks.

S&P 500 futures were flat in the Asia session after the index fell in US trade. European futures and FTSE futures were about 0.2% lower. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was huddled near a two-week low and had inched 0.2% higher by afternoon.

Traders have been driving up US yields and the US dollar accordingly, with benchmark 10-year yields touching one-month highs around 4.4% overnight, before settling at 4.39%.

Moves in the Asia session were small, muted by the upcoming Fed meeting and central bank meetings in Japan, Britain, Norway and Sweden on Thursday.