Bulls at PSX take a breather as index closes lower amid rollover week

KARACHI: After a strong rally in recent sessions, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) took a breather on Thursday as investors locked in gains ahead of the final days of the rollover week.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index saw a volatile session, swinging between an intraday high of 613 points and a low of 561 points, before closing at 138,692 — down 561 points or 0.40 per cent.

The session reflected a tug-of-war between bullish sentiment and rollover-induced caution, with market participants leaning towards profit-taking. As rollover pressure builds, analysts expect choppy movements to persist, with selective interest likely to guide the near-term direction, according to Topline Securities.

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Fertiliser, commercial banks, and oil and gas exploration companies were the major laggards, cumulatively dragging the index down by 505 points, Ismail Iqbal Securities said.

Pearl Securities noted the index opened on a positive note, buoyed by initial investor optimism. However, profit-taking emerged in the latter half, placing the market under mild pressure and leading to a negative close.

Investors also appeared to reassess the sustainability of the recent rally, prompting a measured retreat across key sectors. Key drags on the index included FFC, HBL, ENGROH, MARI, and EFERT, which collectively pulled the index down by 506 points. In contrast, HUBC, MCB, and SYS provided some support, adding a combined 204 points.

Market participation remained strong, with trading volumes reaching 646 million shares and total turnover clocking in at Rs28 billion. BOP topped the volume chart with 113 million shares traded.