Pakistan’s stock market moved in both directions on Tuesday, reflecting nervous investor mood during the ongoing trading session.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange opened in positive territory, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index jumping 1,677 points to 176,131 around 9:40am. Early buying helped lift sentiment, while trading activity remained modest at the start of the session.
However, the momentum did not last long. Selling pressure returned soon after the strong opening, pulling the market deep into the red. By 11:15am, the benchmark KSE-100 index had dropped to 172,115.33, down 2,338.6 points, as volumes rose sharply to over 119 million shares.
Losses were seen across major sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, power generation and refineries. Heavyweight stocks such as HUBCO, ARL, OGDC, POL, HBL, MEBL and NBP traded lower, adding pressure on the index.
Despite the sharp fall, the market later showed signs of recovery. By 12:29pm, the KSE-100 had returned to the green, rising to 174,989.89, up 535.96 points or 0.31 percent, with volumes expanding to more than 210 million shares. The trading session is still ongoing and the market has not yet closed.
Market statistics show the KSE-100 index has gained 56.60 percent over the past year, while the year to date increase stands at 0.54 percent. Over the last 52 weeks, the Pakistani stock market has traded between 101,598.91 and 191,032.73.
Among active stocks, PIBTL, HUMNL and WTL posted gains, while KEL, PTC and NCPL traded lower. Top performers included MSCL, 786 and JVDCPS, each rising close to 10 percent. On the losing side, LSECLR dropped sharply, followed by EPQL and CHAS.
Tuesday’s volatile session comes a day after the market suffered a heavy fall. On Monday, the KSE-100 plunged 5,149.79 points, closing at 174,453.94, as broad based selling hurt investor confidence.
