KSE-100 swings wildly before closing flat as volatility persists

Investors remain cautious amid economic concerns as PSX trading volume shrinks sharply

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a highly volatile session on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index fluctuating sharply throughout the day before ultimately closing flat.

The market opened on a positive note, attracting early buying interest, but a wave of selling pressure soon took hold, pushing the index to an intra-day low of 109,686.53 points. However, as the session progressed, bullish sentiment resurfaced, driving the index upward to an intra-day high of 110,905.09 points before stabilizing. By the closing bell, the KSE-100 Index settled at 110,322.94 points, posting a marginal gain of 21.78 points or 0.02%.

Market analysts observed that despite persistent volatility, the PSX has reached technically attractive levels, raising the possibility of a trend reversal in the near term. “Many stocks have reached attractive levels, and we may see the downtrend reversing soon,” noted Intermarket Securities in a report released earlier in the day.

The sell-off trend that gripped the market throughout the week continued into Thursday when the KSE-100 plummeted by over 1,600 points, closing at 110,301.16. Investors remain cautious amid ongoing macroeconomic concerns and fluctuations in global markets, contributing to erratic trading patterns at the PSX.

On the international front, Asian stock markets exhibited modest gains on Friday as investors assessed global economic risks. Asian equities were buoyed by anticipation of key US payroll data, while sentiment remained uncertain over global trade tensions. The Japanese yen surged to its highest level in nearly two months on rising expectations that Japan’s central bank may introduce further interest rate hikes this year.

In the United States, investor confidence remained fragile, following President Donald Trump’s shifting trade policies. The week began with the US imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada, only to later put them on hold. Meanwhile, new tariffs on China came into effect, but Beijing’s measured response has left room for negotiations, providing some reassurance to markets.

In Asia, markets responded positively to developments in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector, particularly after the Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek achieved a technological breakthrough. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index rose 0.17% on Friday, marking a 3% weekly gain, its strongest performance since October when optimism around Chinese government stimulus had driven market gains. Similarly, China’s blue-chip index advanced 0.8%, contributing to an overall 0.3% gain in MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan.

The Pakistani rupee exhibited a slight improvement against the US dollar in the interbank market on Friday, appreciating by 0.04%. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency settled at Rs279.05 per dollar, recording a gain of Re0.1. This marginal appreciation reflects improved investor sentiment following reports of potential economic adjustments and discussions surrounding Pakistan’s external financing needs.

Trading activity on the PSX saw a notable decline, reflecting lower investor participation amid market uncertainty. Total trading volume on the all-share index shrank to 299.68 million shares, significantly lower than the 598.93 million shares traded in the previous session. The total value of traded shares also fell, dropping to Rs15.62 billion, compared to Rs25.63 billion on Thursday.

Among actively traded stocks, WorldCall Telecom emerged as the volume leader, with 30.24 million shares changing hands, followed by Silk Bank Ltd with 22.23 million shares, and K-Electric Ltd with 18.74 million shares.

A total of 446 companies were traded on Friday, of which 144 recorded gains, 228 declined, while 74 remained unchanged.

Would you like any further elaboration on specific areas, such as sector-wise performance or institutional investor participation?

Monitoring Desk
Monitoring Desk
Our monitoring team diligently searches the vast expanse of the web to carefully handpick and distill top-tier business and economic news stories and articles, presenting them to you in a concise and informative manner.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Must Read

PM Shehbaz approves major reforms to revive Pakistan’s maritime sector

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved sweeping maritime reforms to modernize ports, curb losses, and boost Pakistan’s global trade competitiveness