Pakistan Stock Exchange closes higher amid volatile session

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) KSE-100 Index closed at 138,412 points, up 447 points or 0.32 per cent on Wednesday, after a volatile session that saw an intraday high of 139,018 and a low of 137,658.

Early trading was marked by selling pressure from leveraged investors amid uncertainty over a possible interest rate cut. The market, however, rebounded after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) kept the policy rate unchanged at 11 per cent in its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, Topline Securities reported.

Banking stocks led the recovery, flipping earlier losses into gains, Ismail Iqbal Securities said. Commercial Banks, Technology & Communication, and Chemical sectors cumulatively added 853 points to the index.

Major losers, including FFC, LUCK, ENGROH, MLCF and DGKC, collectively dragged the index down by 303 points. In contrast, SYS, UBL and HBL added 481 points.

Market activity remained strong, with 423 million shares traded and a turnover of Rs24 billion. BOP topped the volume chart with 24 million shares.