The Pakistan Stock Exchange opened lower on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index falling 2,061 points to 156,251.57 shortly after the market opened at 9:35 am. Investors appeared cautious as trading continued, and the index largely remained in negative territory throughout the session.
By 1:22 pm, the market had dropped further, with the KSE-100 sliding 3,971 points to 154,341.51 on a volume of over 159 million shares.
At 2:19 pm, the index stood at 154,388.19, down 3,925 points or 2.48 percent. During the day, the KSE-100 fluctuated between a high of 157,591.23 and a low of 154,341.51, while total trading volume reached 181.5 million shares.
The market’s year-to-date performance remained negative, down 11.30 percent, although the one-year change showed a gain of 31.09 percent. The index has traded in a 52-week range of 101,598.91 to 191,032.73, reflecting a volatile year for investors.
Among the most active stocks, FNEL traded at 1.19, down 3.25 percent with over 26.5 million shares exchanged. UNITY was at 8.33, down 2.80 percent with a volume of 21.6 million, while KEL saw a 4.87 percent fall to 7.42 with 20.4 million shares traded. WTL dropped 4.76 percent to 1.20, FCCL lost 3.65 percent to 40.45, and BOP XD fell 2.85 percent to 25.88. PIBTL dropped 5.50 percent to 14.60, CNERGY declined 2.54 percent to 6.90, NCPL fell 5.88 percent to 60.85, and NPL slipped 5.63 percent to 67.00.
On the brighter side, some stocks recorded gains. MFFLR1 rose 33.22 percent to 4.01, PASM NC added 13.27 percent to 6.40, and ITTEFAQ climbed 12.48 percent to 9.01. DEL gained 10.02 percent to 18.22, POWERPS increased 10.02 percent to 19.43, and MSCL jumped 10.02 percent to 17.13. Other advancers included ASIC, KPUS, ASHT, and FCIBL, all posting gains of 10 percent or more.
However, the market’s decline was underscored by steep losses in several companies. HRPL fell 10.01 percent to 19.05, PIM dropped 10.01 percent to 22.30, and FIL slid 10 percent to 154.86. INKL lost 10 percent to 73.19, FANM dropped 9.96 percent to 6.78, CFL fell 9.54 percent to 46.20, JVDCPS slid 9.18 percent to 55.02, IML fell 9.06 percent to 25.00, REDCO declined 9.02 percent to 23.71, and SUTM dropped 8.92 percent to 87.03.
Investors remained cautious amid negative market sentiment, with selling pressure dominating most of the session.
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