ISLAMABAD: Bears dominated the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) today, causing a sharp decline in the benchmark KSE-100 index by more than 1,700 points during intraday trading. This decline was fueled by the Pakistani Rupee’s significant drop below the 300 mark earlier in the week.
Right from the start of the trading session, the benchmark KSE-100 index exhibited a bearish trend, immediately entering negative territory and shedding over 700 points as trading resumed on Thursday.
In a concise market analysis, Mohammed Sohail, the CEO of Topline, attributed the ongoing slump in stock prices to the continuous devaluation of the Pakistani Rupee.
The main index suffered a substantial loss of 1,784 points, equal to a 3.72 percent drop, causing it to plummet below 45,000 points to reach 44,459 points at 2:52 PM.
At 3:02 PM, the KSE-100 was down by 3.59 percent or 1,661 points, reaching a level of 44,582.9, with a trading volume of 125,151,879 shares.
During the trading session, the benchmark KSE-100 index reached an intraday low of 44,459 points, recording a decline of 1,784 points. The index later halted its decline, recovering by -1,242 points to reach 45,002 points. Additionally, the KMI 30 index saw a decrease of 1,961 points, closing at 74,969 points, while the KSE All Share index experienced a drop of 777 points, settling at 30,041 points.
The negative sentiment was further fueled by factors such as the continuous slide of the Pakistani Rupee and rising fuel prices, leading to investor pessimism. Economic analyst A H H Soomro emphasized the need for decisive action to control the open market and curb grey market activities. Concerns over potential interest rate hikes added to the government’s fiscal challenges. Expectations regarding Muhammad Bin Salman’s visit on Reko Diq and refinery developments were also seen as factors that could change market sentiments.
Several sectors, including technology, automobiles, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration, and OMCs, witnessed significant selling pressure and experienced negative trading.
Companies such as United Bank Limited (UBL), Worldcall Telecom Limited (WTL), Meezan Bank Limited (MEBL), Lucky Cement (LUCK), and Mari Petroleum (MARI) contributed to the index’s decline.
Out of a total of 315 traded scrips, 38 advanced, 258 declined, and 19 remained unchanged.
Today’s market losses were influenced by Finance Minister Dr. Shamshad Akhtar’s remarks during Wednesday’s meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue. Her candid statement about efforts to undermine the economy added to existing concerns. The historic decline of the Pakistani Rupee and expectations of a substantial 2-3 percent interest rate hike by the State Bank of Pakistan further aggravated the selling pressure on the benchmark KSE-100 index.
On a related note, the PKR/$ exchange rate at the interbank level had dropped to 304 on Wednesday, while rates in the open market and black market had plunged to as low as 312 and 325, respectively.
