Pakistan’s stock market faces biggest decline in 2.5 months

KARACHI: In a noteworthy development on Wednesday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed its most significant daily downturn in approximately 2.5 months.

This marks a substantial correction following a remarkable bullish trend that had prevailed since September, propelling the key benchmark index to unprecedented heights.

The KSE-100 index swiftly surpassed the 67,000 mark in the initial moments of today’s trading session. However, persistent selling pressure persisted throughout the remainder of the day.

By 1:52 pm, the index fluctuated around 66,300 until an intense selling spree precipitated a plunge to 64,427.39 points, resulting in a substantial loss of nearly 2,000 points.

Despite a partial recovery towards the session’s close, the index settled at 65,280 points, reflecting a loss of 1,146.62 points, or 1.73 per cent day-on-day.

Pakistan Stock Exchange – 13 December 2023 (Closing)

Market turnover remained robust, with 677.143 million shares valued at Rs28.35 billion changing hands.

This long-overdue correction is attributed to over-leveraged positions in the market, compounded by investors engaging in profit-taking activities following an extended period of bullish momentum.

Additionally, some market participants had anticipated a marginal rate cut; however, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) opted to maintain the rate at 22 per cent in its decision yesterday.

The index exhibited a wide intraday range of 2,666.58 points, reaching an intraday high of 67,093.96 (+667.18) and a low of 64,427.39 (-1,999.40) points.

Among the 100 index companies, 18 closed higher, 72 closed lower, 1 remained unchanged, and 9 remained untraded.

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