KEY POINTS
- KSE-100 slides 1,579 points (-0.94%) to close at 166,174 amid broad profit-taking.
- Over 629 million shares worth Rs 41.7 billion traded on the Ready Market.
- Banks, energy, and fertiliser stocks led the decline after last week’s record highs.
- Analysts term the pullback a technical correction as investors await inflation data.
ISLAMABAD: Selling pressure continued on the local bourse as more traders jumped into the profit-taking bandwagon on Tuesday, forcing the benchmark to lose another percentage point of the indexed value.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw another round of selling on Tuesday as profit-taking deepened across key sectors, dragging the benchmark KSE-100 Index down by 1,578.66 points (-0.94 per cent) to close at 166,173.74, according to the PSX Market Summary.
The index touched an intraday high of 168,518.97 and a low of 165,997.21 before settling near the day’s bottom at the end of the volatile session.
Trading turnover contracted notably, with 629.74 million shares changing hands, valued at Rs 41.72 billion, as per data on the PSX data portal (dps.psx.com.pk). Market breadth stayed heavily negative with most blue-chip counters retreating from record levels reached late last week.
Top traded names and sectoral pressure
Volume leaders included Bank of Punjab, K-Electric Ltd, Cnergyico PK, WorldCall Telecom, and PTCL, collectively accounting for a significant portion of total trades.
Dealers said sentiment turned cautious early in the session as retail and institutional investors opted to lock in profits following last week’s exceptional surge.
According to analysts quoted by Business Recorder, heavyweights from the banking, energy, and fertiliser sectors bore the brunt of the selling, pulling the market lower amid subdued participation from foreign investors.
They said the ongoing correction appeared technical, given stretched valuations and concerns about short-term macro data.
Drivers and sentiment
Analysts told Dawn that investors largely stayed on the sidelines ahead of upcoming inflation readings and clarity on fiscal inflows under the IMF programme.
“The market’s recent highs had already priced in much of the optimism,” one dealer was quoted as saying, adding that volumes thinning out reflected a cooling phase rather than a reversal.
Regional scenario
Regionally, Reuters reported that most Asian markets traded mixed on Tuesday as investors awaited key U.S. economic data and oil price cues.
The weakness in frontier and emerging markets, it said, partly spilt over into Pakistan, where investors reacted to a softer rupee and renewed volatility in energy prices.
Outlook
Market observers believe short-term consolidation is likely to continue as investors digest global and domestic economic indicators. Technical support is expected in the 165,000-165,500 range, while noting resistance range 168,500-170,000, according to independent chartists cited by Bloomberg.
“Despite the current pullback, liquidity remains ample and corporate earnings trends are steady,” Bloomberg said in a regional equity note, suggesting that Pakistan’s bourse remains among Asia’s more resilient frontier markets this quarter.
For now, traders anticipate selective buying in undervalued scrips once clarity emerges on inflation, currency stability, and policy signals from economic managers.
