ISLAMABAD: After reaching a record intra-day high, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) turned bearish, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 800 points at close on Thursday.
The stock market, propelled by bullish momentum, reached an intra-day high of 120,699.17 during the day. However, selling was witnessed during the second half of the trading session.
By the close of the session, the benchmark index settled at 119,153.04, marking a loss of 778.41 points or 0.65%.
On Thursday, a total of 589,772,649 shares were traded during the day as compared to 667,685,585 shares the previous trading day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs 30.813 billion against Rs 26.624 billion on the last trading day.
As many as 466 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 195 of them recorded gains and 229 met losses, whereas the share price of 42 companies remained unchanged.
The three top trading companies were K-Electric Limited with 42,770,156 shares at Rs 4.71 per share, followed by Bank Makramah with 28,172,037 shares at Rs 3.77 per share and Ghani Global Holding settled with 27,642,592 shares at Rs 16.71 per share.
PIA Holding Company LimitedB witnessed a maximum increase of Rs 1,658.12 per share, closing at Rs 18,239.28, whereas Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited was the runner-up with Rs 475.61 rise in its share price to close at Rs 10,938.05.
Colgate-Palmolive (Pakistan) Limited witnessed a maximum decline of Rs 34.87 per share price, closing at Rs 1,306.95, whereas the runner-up Otsuka Pakistan Limited saw a drop of Rs 33.42 in its per share price to Rs 300.77.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) made a strong rebound on Wednesday, fueled by renewed investor confidence and speculative interest ahead of the upcoming federal budget. Significant buying was observed in oil & gas and banking sector stocks.
As a result, the benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 960 points, or 0.81%, closing at 11,931.5.
On the global front, longer-term U. Treasury yields climbed to an 18-month high on Thursday, while Asian stocks and the US dollar slipped amid growing concerns over a deteriorating fiscal outlook in the world’s largest economy.
Investor focus remains on US President Donald Trump’s tax bill, expected to be put to a vote in Congress this week.
Markets are increasingly anxious that the proposed legislation could add approximately $3.8 trillion to the already substantial $36 trillion U.S. debt burden.
