ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) observed a volatile session on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 400 points.
The trading started on a positive note, with the KSE-100 Index reaching an intra-day high of 149,453.19. However, a wave of profit-taking pushed the index down to an intra-day low of 148,312.57.
By the close of trading, the KSE-100 Index had settled at 148,435.06, marking a decline of 380.24 points, or 0.26%.
On Tuesday, a total of 665,420,243 shares were traded as compared to 693,301,556 shares on the last working day, whereas the price of shares stood at PKR 31.543 billion against PKR 26.343 billion on the previous trading day.
As many as 479 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 196 of them recorded gains and 256 met losses, whereas the share price of 27 companies remained unchanged.
On Monday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) came under renewed pressure as widespread profit-taking and cautious investor sentiment, driven by the start of rollover week, pushed the indices lower.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index dropped by 677.75 points, or 0.45%, to close at 148,815.31.
Global trend
On the global front, Asian stock markets followed declines on Wall Street after an announcement by President Donald Trump, who revealed he was dismissing a Federal Reserve governor — an unprecedented move that raised fresh concerns over the Fed’s independence and the stability of US financial institutions.
The US dollar weakened against both the yen and the euro after Trump stated he was removing Lisa Cook from the Fed’s board of directors, citing alleged misconduct related to mortgage loan applications and intensifying his confrontation with the central bank.
“I have determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position,” Trump said in a letter addressed to Cook, which he shared on his Truth Social platform.
He alleged that there was substantial evidence indicating she had made false statements on mortgage applications.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.6%, after US stocks ended the previous session with mild losses. Japan’s Nikkei index sank 1.1%.
Futures markets pointed to a nervous day ahead for Europe and the US.
Euro Stoxx 50 futures were down 0.57%, German DAX futures were down 0.42% and FTSE futures fell 0.35%. The US S&P 500 e-minis slid 0.17%.
