The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a sharp reversal on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index coming under heavy selling pressure during intraday trade, following a strong rally in the previous session.
By around 12:24 PM on April 2, the KSE-100 Index was recorded at 151,514.07, down 3,997.49 points, or 2.57 percent. Earlier in the session at 12:09 PM, the index had dropped even further to 151,291.17, reflecting a loss of over 4,200 points at one stage.
The PSX remained volatile throughout the session, moving within a wide range of over 2,000 points. It touched an intraday high of 152,052.19, still deep in the red, while the low fell to 150,022.43, highlighting the intensity of selling pressure.
Investor participation stayed relatively subdued compared to the previous day’s rally. Total traded volume in the KSE-100 Index stood at around 110 million shares, indicating cautious sentiment among traders.
Market breadth painted a weak picture. Out of the 100 index companies, only six stocks managed to post gains, while 93 declined and one remained untraded. This reflected broad-based selling across most sectors.
On the losing side, notable declines were seen in NPL, which fell 6.21 percent, followed by SEARL at 5.84 percent, PAEL at 5.70 percent, PTC at 5.33 percent, and MLCF at 5.18 percent. On the other hand, a handful of stocks managed modest gains, including FHAM, up 4.65 percent, MEHT gaining 2.47 percent, HGFA rising 2.17 percent, along with smaller increases in UPFL and RMPL.
Heavyweights drag index lower
The decline was largely driven by heavyweight stocks. UBL led the fall, dragging the index down by 439 points, followed by FFC, HUBC, LUCK, and MCB, each contributing significant negative points.
Sector-wise, commercial banks emerged as the biggest drag, pulling the index down by over 1,400 points. Cement, oil and gas exploration, fertiliser, and power generation sectors also weighed heavily on the market.
Previous session
Thursday’s downturn comes a day after a strong bullish session, when the KSE-100 Index surged by 6,768 points, or 4.55 percent, to close at 155,511.56. The rally had been driven by strong investor confidence and aggressive buying across key sectors.
However, the latest intraday performance suggests profit-taking and weak global cues have quickly reversed sentiment, pushing the market back into negative territory.
Despite the current decline, the index remains up 27.39 percent on a one-year basis, although it is still down 12.95 percent so far this year, reflecting ongoing volatility in the market.
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