After hitting a record high in the previous session, some profit-taking was witnessed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 ending the final trading session of the week with a loss of over 300 points.
The market kicked off trading on a positive note, with the KSE-100 hitting an intra-day high of 119,405.92.
However, profit-taking wiped out early gains and the benchmark index settled at 118,442.18 level, down by 327.60 points or 0.28%.
Selling pressure was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, power generation and refineries. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, ARL, MARI, PPL, MCB, MEBL and NBP traded in red.
The stock market has been on a record-breaking rally, fueled by optimism over an imminent International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA).
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmed, Thursday, expressed the hope that Pakistan and the Washington-based lender would reach the SLA soon. However, the SBP chief gave no timeframe for signing the SLA.
Moreover, the market is also closely monitoring government efforts to resolve the energy sector circular debt, which, if addressed, will help the cash flows of companies in this sector.
On Thursday, PSX continued its record-breaking run as the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossed the 119,000 level, for the first time, before closing at a new high of 118,769.77.
Internationally, Asian stocks fell on Friday in a downbeat end to the week as deepening geopolitical worries and fear over US tariffs and their impact on the global economy curbed investors’ appetite for risk, keeping safe-haven gold near record highs.
Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were steady in Asian hours, while European futures pointed to a weak open.
Policymakers across the globe struck a cautious note in a week filled with central bank meetings as uncertainty in global economics and politics grew.
The US Federal Reserve, the Bank Of Japan and the Bank of England all held rates steady.
Central bankers highlighted the unsettled outlook due largely to rising trade tensions triggered by the US under President Donald Trump.
Trump intends to impose new reciprocal tariff rates on April 2, ushering in a fresh wave of uncertainty.
Reports of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and a huge blast from a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian military airfield were a reminder of rising geopolitical tensions pushing investors towards safe-haven assets.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.85%, with stocks in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia dropping sharply.
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 369.12 million from 667.88 million recorded in the previous close.
Whereas, the value of shares lowered to Rs23.27 billion from Rs38.53 billion in the previous session.
Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 49.09 million shares, followed by Pak Refinery with 27.36 million shares, and Fauji Foods Ltd with 26.35 million shares.
Shares of 442 companies were traded on Friday, of which 193 registered an increase, 190 recorded a fall, while 52 remained unchanged.
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