Pakistan Stock Exchange closes lower amid profit-taking

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) kicked off rollover week on a volatile note on Monday, as profit-taking spells weighed on sentiment.

The benchmark index swung sharply, touching an intraday high of 812 points before slipping to a low of 791 points. It eventually closed at 157,554 — down 482 points, or 0.31 per cent, according to Topline Securities.

Caution also stemmed from a rise in the MTS rate to 17.10, signalling tighter conditions for leveraged investors. With rollover activity in focus, analysts expect volatility to remain elevated in the sessions ahead.

On the sectoral front, PSO, HUBC, OGDC, and GLAXO collectively contributed +408 points, while heavyweights UBL, ENGROH, MEBL, FFC, and LUCK dragged the index down by -660 points.

According to Al Habib Capital, the KSE-100 Index remained volatile throughout the day, hitting an intraday high of 158,850.34 before settling at 157,554.66, down 482.71 points (-0.31 per cent).

Investors appeared cautious, booking gains ahead of future settlement week. On the macro front, the IMF will visit Pakistan on Sept 25, 2025, for the USD 7 billion EFF review, with the country expected to have met all seven QPC targets for March and June.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s power sector circular debt fell 29.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs1.66 trillion in July 2025, though it inched up 2.9 per cent month-on-month.

ECC approves $7.7bn financing, $390m rail deal for Reko Diq project

“Selling pressure was observed primarily in the power, technology, banking, and refinery sectors, which weighed on overall market momentum. Despite this, broader sentiment remained resilient, with investors largely maintaining a cautious stance ahead of key economic developments,” Pearl Securities noted.

In terms of value traded, PSO (Rs6.96 billion) led the chart, followed by BOP (Rs3.41 billion), OGDC (Rs2.74 billion), PPL (Rs2.24 billion), and TRG (Rs2.20 billion).

Overall activity was muted compared to the previous session, with volumes settling at 1,664 million shares and total traded value at Rs60.8 billion. KEL topped the volume board with 236 million shares.