KARACHI: After several sessions of gains, selling pressure returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday, pulling the benchmark KSE-100 Index lower in the second half of trade.
The market was largely steady in the morning, but profit-taking intensified in the final hours. The KSE-100 touched an intra-day low of 161,853 at around 4 pm before recovering slightly into the close.
At the close, the index settled at 162,102.92, down 834.01 points, or 0.51%, from the previous session.
Selling was seen across major sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, fertiliser, oil marketing companies, power generation and refineries. Index-heavy stocks such as MARI, PPL, POL, ARL and PSO closed in the red.
On Thursday, the PSX had posted broad-based gains, with the KSE-100 rising 710.66 points, or 0.44%, to close at 162,936.94.
The PSX had a volatile week, marked by sharp swings rather than a one-way move. The KSE-100 started near 161,700 on Monday, slipped further on Tuesday to 160,935, then rebounded strongly on Wednesday to 162,226 and extended gains on Thursday to 162,937 before falling back on Friday to close at 162,102.92. Measured from last week’s close of 161,935.19, the index still ended the week slightly higher by about 168 points, or roughly 0.10%, showing that the mid-week recovery offset the early and late selling.
Overall, the week’s choppiness signals cautious optimism: investors are willing to buy on weakness, but are also quick to lock in gains when fresh triggers are limited and international markets stay uncertain.
