A choppy trading session at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday saw the benchmark KSE-100 Index fluctuate throughout the day before closing with a marginal loss of 118.84 points.
The index opened positive and briefly touched an intra-day high of 162,385.32, but selling pressure pulled it down to 161,241.46 by midday. The KSE-100 eventually settled at 161,984.08, reflecting a decrease of 0.07%.
Brokerage house Topline Securities said the session remained largely range-bound as investors stayed cautious ahead of the November futures contract expiry. It added that concerns over the law-and-order situation in Peshawar weighed on market sentiment during the first half of the day, though selective buying later helped limit losses.
Heavyweights including Fauji Fertilizer Company, Engro, Pioneer Cement, Bank Al Habib, and Habib Bank collectively added 499 points to the benchmark. However, declines in Mari Petroleum, Oil & Gas Development Company, Meezan Bank, Pakistan Oilfields, and Pakistan Petroleum offset these gains, erasing 347 points.
The KSE-100 had closed the previous week largely steady at 162,102.92, posting a nominal rise of 0.1% despite sharp swings in macroeconomic indicators and strong trading activity, suggesting a phase of consolidation.
In the currency market, the rupee registered a slight improvement against the US dollar, closing at 280.61 after gaining Re0.01 in the inter-bank session.
Overall share volume fell sharply to 490.35 million from 768.05 million in the previous session, while the traded value declined to Rs23.67 billion from Rs28.64 billion. PIA Holding Company led the volumes with 63.29 million shares, followed by Beco Steel with 34.92 million and Bank Makramah with 32.81 million shares.
A total of 477 companies were traded, with 191 stocks advancing, 247 declining, and 39 remaining unchanged.
