Key Points
- KSE-100 Index falls 1,133 points to close at 184,409.67
- Early gains fade as aggressive profit-taking dominates the second half
- Market breadth weak; losers outnumber gainers by a wide margin
- Volumes and traded value drop sharply from the previous session
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s equity market ended sharply lower on Friday as investors continued locking in gains after a strong recent rally, pushing the benchmark KSE-100 Index down by more than 1,100 points following a highly volatile trading session with thin volumes.
The index opened on a firm note and advanced in early trade, climbing to an intraday high of 186,180 points. Selling pressure soon emerged, however, erasing initial gains and dragging the market into negative territory by midday. A steeper sell-off in the second half, driven by profit-taking across key sectors, pulled the index to an intraday low of 183,700.
At the close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 184,409 points, marking a decline of 1,133 points, or 0.61 per cent, from the previous session.
The correction followed a similar move a day earlier, when the market also closed lower after touching historic highs in recent sessions. On Thursday, the benchmark had ended the session at 185,543 points, down 975.70 points, or 0.52 per cent, as investors turned cautious.
Trading activity cooled noticeably. Total volume on the all-share index fell to 1,033.8 million shares from 1,433.9 million in the previous session. The value of shares traded dropped to Rs 52.92 billion compared with Rs 91.34 billion during the preceding session.
Fauji Foods Limited led volumes with 75.81 million shares traded, followed by Hascol Petroleum with 68.35 million shares and Media Times Limited with 56.23 million shares.
Market breadth reflected the selling pressure. Of the 483 companies traded, 271 shares declined, 162 advanced, and 50 ended unchanged.
In the currency market, the Pakistani rupee posted a marginal gain against the US dollar in interbank trading, closing at 280.02, up Rs 0.03.
Globally, equities traded cautiously as investors awaited key developments in major economies. Asian markets drifted lower, and sentiment remained fragile ahead of closely watched policy and legal signals in the United States. European stock futures edged higher, offering limited support to risk appetite.
