KARACHI: Panic selling continued as the Pakistan Stock Exchange experienced an unprecedented collapse on Thursday and nosedived in deep red to record worst-ever singly-day decline.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index plunged by massive and worst ever single day decline of 4,795.32 points or 4.32 percent and closed at 106,274.98 points. The KSE-100 Index has recorded huge losses of 9,894.44 points during the last three trading sessions.

The trading volumes on ready counter stood at 1,167.361 million shares as compared to 1,111.921 million shares traded on Wednesday while total daily traded value on the ready counter declined to Rs 56.797 billion against previous session’s Rs 60.242 billion.

BRIndex100 decreased by 506.36 points or 4.26 percent to close at 11,383.81 points with total daily turnover of 1,019.943 million shares.

BRIndex30 declined by 2,145.00 points or 5.74 percent to close at 35,211.54 points with total daily trading volumes of 713.685 million shares.

Foreign investors also remained on the selling side and withdrew $5.039 million from the local equity market. Total market capitalization declined by Rs 542 billion to Rs 13.603 trillion. Out of total 472 active scrips, 371 closed in negative and only 66 in positive while the value of 35 stocks remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 177.645 million shares however lost Rs 0.19 to close at Rs 1.52 followed by K-Electric that fell by 0.39 to close at Rs 5.22 with 81.901 million shares. Cnergyico PK declined by Rs 0.70 to close at Rs 5.84 with 68.345 million shares.

Rafhan Maize Products Company and Indus Motor Company were the top gainers increasing by Rs 348.58 and Rs 186.79 respectively to close at Rs 9,250.58 and Rs 2,245.36 while Unilever Pakistan Foods and Nestle Pakistan were the top losers declining by Rs 267.44 and Rs 187.63 respectively to close at Rs 20,625.42 points and Rs 7.241.37.

An analyst at Topline Securities said that the KSE-100 Index experienced an unprecedented collapse, plummeting by 5,132 points during the trading session — marking the steepest point-wise decline in its history. This sharp sell-off was triggered by significant redemptions from local mutual funds, compounded by year-end profit-taking by institutions, collectively dragging the market into turmoil.

MARI (down 10 percent) extended its losing streak, locking at the lower circuit for the third consecutive session. Persistent concerns over its overvaluation, particularly concerning near-term fundamentals, fuelled the relentless sell-off.

Leading the downward trajectory were heavyweights MARI, HUBC, UBL, OGDC, and ENGRO, which together contributed a staggering 1,556 points to the index’s overall decline.

BR Automobile Assembler Index lost 193.33 points or 0.96 percent to close at 20,048.20 points with total turnover of 5.692 million shares.

BR Cement Index decreased by 526.95 points or 4.78 percent to close at 10,499.94 points with 71.531 million shares.

BR Commercial Banks Index declined by 1147.29 points or 4.15 percent to close at 26,509.28 points with 89.920 million shares.

BR Power Generation and Distribution Index plunged by 1167.59 points or 6.24 percent to close at 17,537.91 points with 114.712 million shares.

BR Oil and Gas Index eroded 739.24 points or 5.81 percent to close at 11,976.60 points with 123.152 million shares.

BR Tech. & Comm. Index fell by 301.1 points or 5.58 percent to close at 5,093.90 points with 267.685 million shares.

Ali Najib at Insight Securities said another highest single day drop as PSX’s rein is now fully in the hands of Bears.

Bulls were seen in the early trading hours where KSE-100 index made an intraday high at 111,745 level, (up 675 points). Post the aforesaid intraday high, the market took a nosedive amidst the strong selling pressure as investors’ confidence crippled after witnessing Wednesday’s sell-off.

Again profit-taking can be attributed to this crazy sell-off as investors chose to trim their positions before year end. Additionally, concerns over a new National Assembly bill targeting non-filers—limiting their ability to invest in mutual funds or even maintain bank accounts—are adding to the uncertainty.

E&P, Fertilizer, Power, Banks and Cement sectors received most of the selling pressure as MARI, HUBC, UBL, OGDC, ENGRO and PPL contributed 1,720 points, negatively.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024