ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) struggled to sustain its recent gains, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing nearly flat on Wednesday, shedding 85.45 points to settle at 112,924.93, a marginal decline of 0.08%.
“Market has gained optimism given rising expectations of a smooth IMF review due by March — inspired by a strong primary surplus for 1HFY25 and IMF staff’s remarks ahead of the review,” said Intermarket Securities in a note on Wednesday.
“If such encouraging news flow continues then the current market rebound is likely to extend,” it added.
Overall, 669,597,325 shares were entertained during the day as compared to 486,935,003 shares the last working day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs 27.904 billion against Rs 30.381 billion on the previous trading day.
As many as 440 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 171 of them registered gains and 211 met losses, whereas the share price of 58 companies remained unchanged.
The three top trading companies were B.O. Punjab with 195,542,381 shares at Rs 11.91 per share followed by Bank Makramah with 46,593,400 shares at Rs 4.18 per share whereas PTCL settled with 30,235,783 shares at Rs 24.77 per share.
Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited recorded a maximum increase of Rs 508.57 per share closing at Rs 23,923.99 whereas Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited was runner-up with Rs 93.25 rise in its share price to close at Rs 9,458.30.
Ismail Industries Limited witnessed a maximum decline of Rs 47.81 per share price, closing at Rs 1,852.19, whereas the runner-up was Bata Pakistan Limited with a drop of Rs 38.91 in its per share price to Rs 1,861.27.
On Tuesday, positive momentum persisted at the PSX for the second consecutive session in the week, with the benchmark KSE-100 closing the day with a gain of 1,632 points at 113,010.38.
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Stocks rose globally, and U.S. Treasury yields strengthened on Wednesday as assessed the latest U.S. tariff salvo along with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s signal of a patient path for rate cuts.
Financial markets were generally steady as they awaited the U.S. consumer price report, which could influence the outlook for monetary policy. This is especially relevant as policymakers consider the potential inflationary effects of President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on the economy.
On Monday, Trump increased tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 25 percent from 10 percent, removed country-specific exceptions, and revoked product-specific exclusions. He also pledged to announce global reciprocal tariffs in the coming days.
