PSX closes down 2,500 points amid heavy selling

Bears dominated the trading floor at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index declining by over 2,500 points at close on Thursday, mainly due to high selling pressure. 

According to the PSX website, the market opened on a bearish note, and the KSE-100 plunged over 1,000 points in the early hours of trading. Broad-based selling was seen across major sectors, including cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, and refineries. Heavyweight stocks such as MCB, NBP, OGDC, POL, PPL and ARL were trading in negative territory.

At the close, the market settled at 180,512.64, plunging 2537.16 points or 1.39% from the previous close of 183,049.80.

Today's decline came after the market closed higher on Wednesday, with the KSE-100 gaining 896.25 points, or 0.49%, to settle at 183,049.81 as selective buying helped reverse earlier losses.

In international markets, Asian equities rose to record levels on Thursday. Stocks in Japan and South Korea touched fresh highs, supported by gains in the technology sector. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares advanced 0.65%, extending its year-to-date rise to around 13%.

Investor attention remains focused on US economic data after stronger-than-expected jobs figures for January reduced expectations of near-term interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, with inflation data due later this week.