PSX faces another setback as KSE-100 falls over 1,300 points amid persistent selling pressure

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended losses during intraday trade on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE‑100 Index sliding over 1,300 points as selling pressure took hold after a positive early start.

The KSE-100 Index had an initially positive session with the market reaching a high of 176,131.35 at 9:40 AM, an increase of 1677.42 from Monday's close. The market eventually started shedding points come late afternoon as broad‑based selling hit key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, power generation and refineries. Major index heavyweights such as HUBCO, ARL, OGDC, POL, HBL, MEBL and NBP were seen trading in negative territory.

The market closed at 173,150.41 points, down by 1303.52 points or 0.75% from the previous close of 174,453.93.

The sell‑off followed a bloodbath in Monday's session, when the benchmark index fell more than 5,100 points amid broad selling and weakened investor confidence.

Among individual stocks, K‑Electric Limited led declines with its share price down 4.30%, while the Bank of Punjab bounced back to increase by 5.4% after falling nearly 3.9%.

Trading sentiment remained cautious as global markets navigated holiday‑reduced liquidity, with several Asian bourses closed for the Lunar New Year, while the US market was closed on Monday for President's day.