KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday remained under pressure and closed in red zone due to heavy selling as investors opted to offload their holdings on available margins.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index declined by 360.86 points or 0.32 percent and closed at 112,564.08 points. The index hit 113,447.71 points intraday high and 112,540.12 points intraday low.
Trading activity remained low as daily volumes on ready counter declined to 596.739 million shares as compared to 669.597 million shares traded on Wednesday. The daily traded value on the ready counter increased to Rs 30.965 billion against previous session’s Rs 27.904 billion.
BRIndex100 lost 53.11 points or 0.44 percent to close at 11,907.27 points with total daily turnover of 524.728 million shares.
BRIndex30 decreased by 354.22 points or 0.99 percent to close at 35,553.87 points with total daily trading volumes of 272.837 million shares.
Foreign investors also remained on the selling side and withdrew $1.823 million from the local equity market. Total market capitalization declined by Rs 33 billion to Rs 13.922 trillion. Out of total 445 active scrips, 221 closed in negative and 176 in positive while the value of 48 stocks remained unchanged.
Bank of Punjab was the volume leader with 79.317 million shares however inched down by Rs 0.05 to close at Rs 11.86 followed by Lotte Chemical that lost Rs 0.33 to close at Rs 21.23 with 72.104 million shares. Power Cement gained Rs 0.57 to close at Rs 10.03 with 40.290 million shares.
Ismail Industries Limited and Pakistan Services Limited were the top gainers increasing by Rs 90.97 and Rs 64.51 respectively to close at Rs 1,943.16 and Rs 1,025.10 while Unilever Pakistan Foods and Nestle Pakistan were the top losers declining by Rs 441.45 and Rs 63.50 respectively to close at Rs 23,482.54 and Rs 7,366.50.
An analyst at Topline Securities said that the local bourse saw a range-bound session, with the benchmark index swinging between an intraday high of plus 553 points and a low of minus 385 points.
Investor sentiment remained mixed, while MEBL results were in line with market expectations, PSO earnings fell slightly short of industry forecasts due to weaker-than-anticipated gross margins.
The upward movement was primarily driven by LUCK, MCB, BAFL, NBP, and MEBL, which together added 184 points to the index. On the other hand, PPL, ENGRO, and PSO collectively reduced the index by 254 points.
BR Automobile Assembler Index gained 29.39 points or 0.13 percent to close at 21,856.08 points with total turnover of 39.409 million shares.
BR Cement Index added 50.46 points or 0.44 percent to close at 11,399.33 points with 63.724 million shares.
BR Commercial Banks Index closed at 30,376.55 points, down 0.29 points with 108.871 million shares.
BR Power Generation and Distribution Index lost 33.33 points or 0.18 percent to close at 18,400.29 points with 18.886 million shares.
BR Oil and Gas Index declined by 194.46 points or 1.67 percent to close at 11,428.19 points with 60.579 million shares.
BR Tech. & Comm. Index increased by 42.52 points or 0.8 percent to close at 5,244.80 points with 40.102 million shares.
Ali Najib at Insight Securities said the PSX continued it consolidation phase as the KSE-100 Index witnessed mixed sentiments during the trading hours. A rangebound move of 938 points witnessed with the intraday high and low levels of 113,478 and 112,540, respectively.
During the session, investors shifted between sectors and stocks, driving momentum in specific areas, as there were no significant positive or negative triggers to influence the market.
LUCK, PSEL, MCB, BAFL and NBP saw buying interest as they added 218 points, collectively. On the other hand, PPL, ENGROH, PSO, UBL and OGDC witnessed profit taking as they lost 376 points, cumulatively.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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