KARACHI— After a volatile trading session marked by strong early gains, the benchmark KSE-100 Index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed in the red on Tuesday, shedding 254.31 points, or 0.21%, to settle at 121,971.04.
The index recorded significant intraday movement, trading in a wide range of 1,076.23 points. It hit an intraday high of 122,891.61, up by 666.26 points in early trade, and a low of 121,815.38, down 409.97 points from the previous close. The total volume on the KSE-100 stood at 203.25 million shares.
Market momentum had initially been positive following the State Bank of Pakistan’s decision to keep the policy rate unchanged at 11%, in line with expectations. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cited inflation data broadly consistent with its projections, with May’s headline inflation clocking in at 3.5% year-on-year, while core inflation declined slightly.
Buying interest was observed early in the day in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies (OMCs), power generation, and refineries. Index-heavyweights such as HUBCO, MARI, POL, PPL, PSO, SNGPL, and ARL contributed to the intraday rally.
However, profit-taking later in the session erased earlier gains.
Out of 100 companies on the index, 37 closed higher, 62 ended in the red, while one remained unchanged.
Top decliners included Pakistan GasPort Consortium Limited (PKGP), which hit its lower limit with a 10.00% drop, followed by YOUW (-5.42%), NPL (-2.41%), K-Electric (-2.23%), and KTML (-2.09%).
On the positive side, Bank of New York Mellon Pakistan (BNWM) led the gainers with a 10.01% rise, trailed by POML (+6.67%), FHAM (+3.55%), Nishat Mills Limited (NML, +3.39%), and PSEL (+2.94%).
In terms of index contribution, PKGP dragged the index down by 131.29 points, followed by LUCK (-82.60 points), ENGROH (-40.59), HUBC (-36.11), and FFC (-29.12).
Conversely, positive momentum was supported by UBL (+68.44 points), HBL (+65.73), Systems Limited (+58.69), OGDC (+26.10), and PSEL (+23.28).
The market had closed Monday’s session with a marginal gain of 81.79 points (0.07%) at 122,225.36, indicating mixed investor sentiment amid cautious trading ahead of the monetary policy announcement.
Analysts suggest that Tuesday’s intraday volatility reflects continued investor uncertainty over macroeconomic indicators and budget-related developments, despite short-term optimism around stable monetary policy.
