PSX jumps then slumps; early Tuesday trading sees volatility

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) grew by 1,000 points moments after opening on Tuesday morning, and then slumped down even more to fall 118 points below opening stage.

Yesterday (Monday), the index closed with over 4,400 points growth at 113,924.41 points. Initially the benchmark KSE-100 index seemed to continue yesterday’s bullish behavior when it was seen trading at 115,036.49 points, but around 9:30 AM, the market fell steeply to 113,266.41 points.

Minutes later, the recovery set in again only for the fluctuations to follow once more. By 10 AM, the KSE-100 index had turned red again and had fallen to 113,529.05 points with nearly 400 points decline.

Also read: Monday morning brings 3,000 points hike for PSX

The volatility seen today is expected after the bullish rally seen on Monday. Overall the index is also going through a correction phase with periodic growth runs.

Yesterday, right off the bat after opening, PSX jumped to 110,990.56 points from 109,513.14 points and then continued the day with steeper gains. That came after last week’s severe fluctuations, and the steepest drop that the stock market has seen in weeks.

Market experts attributed the volatility to the selling pressures caused by year-end profit targets of institutions as well as market correction after central bank’s policy rate revision.

Around 10 AM, the index looked like this: