The Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed a strong bearish trend as the KSE-100 index declined by more than 3,700 points during Monday’s trading session. Major energy and banking stocks remained under pressure, dragging the market lower.
Karachi: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a sharp decline on Monday, with the KSE-100 index recording a major decline of over 3,791 points. Selling pressure on major shares of the energy, banking and oil sectors in the market affected investor confidence while the overall market closed in the negative zone.
According to the “Market Wrap” issued by the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the KSE-100 index opened at 164,799.35 points and reached a high of 164,939.09 points during the trading session. However, due to heavy selling, the index later fell to a low of 161,613.51 points. At the end of the trading session, the index closed at 161,805.02 points, showing a decrease of 3,791.05 points or 2.29 percent.
According to market experts, investors are cautious due to economic uncertainty, inflationary pressures, interest rates and concerns about monetary policy. Analysts say that after the market rally in the past few weeks, investors preferred to sell to take profits, which put pressure on the market.
The company that had the most negative impact on the market was Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), which pushed the index down by 256.64 points. Engro Holdings contributed 241.47 points while Meezan Bank Limited (MEBL) contributed 232.26 points to the decline.
Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) also pushed the market down by 221.62 points, while United Bank Limited (UBL) contributed 209.27 points. On the other hand, a few companies in the market also showed positive performance.
MCB Bank contributed 31.32 points, while Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGP) added 4.52 points. Similarly, Colgate-Palmolive (COLG), IBL Philips and Fatima Group also played a limited positive role.
According to the market report, the total volume of shares of the index was 195.97 million shares, which shows active participation of investors. According to experts, although the selling trend prevailed in the market, some investors also showed interest in buying shares at low prices.
Analysts say the future direction of the Pakistan Stock Exchange will depend on the country’s economic situation, the government’s fiscal policies and global market trends. Investors are keeping a close eye on the upcoming budget, IMF talks and inflation figures.
