PSX slips into red after early gains as KSE-100 loses over 1,000 points

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened in positive territory on the second trading day of the week, with the benchmark KSE-100 index rising to 163,384.95 shortly after the market opened, marking a gain of 581 points on a volume of 3.65 million shares around 9:32 AM.

However, the early optimism was short-lived as the index slipped into negative territory by 9:44 AM, falling 519.06 points to 162,284.09, with trading volume rising to over 21.7 million shares.

Selling pressure intensified in the afternoon, pushing the index down by 1,111.02 points to 161,692.13 around 1:38 PM, with volumes hitting 179.8 million shares.

By 2:04 PM, the KSE-100 index was trading at 161,787.40, down 1,015.75 points or 0.62 percent. The intraday range saw a high of 163,384.95 and a low of 161,533.06, while the overall volume stood at 192.2 million shares.

Despite the pullback, the index remains significantly higher compared with last year, showing a one-year increase of 75.97 percent and a year-to-date gain of 40.53 percent. The 52-week range of the index continues to span from 91,395.35 to 169,988.62.

Market performers

Among the most active stocks, HASCOL and FNEL faced steep losses of 10.02 percent each, while TELE gained 7.84 percent. Other notable performers included TRG and PTC, which rose modestly by 0.73 percent and 2.13 percent respectively.

The top advancers included TPL, OBOY, IMS, TSBL, and KOIL, all posting double-digit percentage gains, with SHCM leading the charge at a 10 percent increase. On the other hand, HASCOL, FNEL, FECM, ASLPS, and GRYL dominated the top decliners list, with losses approaching or exceeding 10 percent.

Previous close

The previous session had ended on a positive note, with the KSE-100 closing at 162,803.15, up 1,171.42 points or 0.72 percent. The index had touched an intraday high of 163,935.02 and a low of 161,892.59, with total trading volume reaching 353 million shares. Out of the 100 index companies, 63 closed higher, 37 closed lower, and none remained unchanged.

This early week volatility reflects mixed sentiment among investors, with initial optimism giving way to profit-taking and cautious trading as the market navigates current economic indicators and corporate performance updates.