Big decline in PSX, KSE-100 falls 2,500 points

Karachi: The Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed significant pressure during trading on Monday. The benchmark KSE-100 index fell 2,541.20 points due to selling in key stocks. The market ended the day at 167,970.66 points.

According to the latest data from the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the KSE-100 index started trading at 169,830.11 points and reached a high of 170,437.73 points. Later, the index fell to a low of 167,441.64 points due to increased selling. The index closed down 1.49 percent. The PSX’s official data portal recorded a closing level of 167,970.65 points and a decline of 2,541.20 points.

The decline came at a time when investors are keeping an eye on the country’s monetary policy decisions and the geopolitical situation in the region. Recent market reviews have also cited monetary policy, IMF reviews and the situation in the Middle East as important factors for the Pakistani equity market.

UBL was the biggest detractor in the KSE-100. According to market data provided, UBL lost 356.20 points from the index. FFC lost 175.70 points and LUCK lost 163.65 points. OGDC lost 130.40 points while MCB lost 103.84 points.

Despite the downturn, some companies supported the index. PSEL contributed 118.86 points positively. ATRL gained 34.71 points and PPL gained 24.69 points. POL and NESTLE also added 14.29 and 13.59 points respectively. However, the gains of these companies could not offset the decline in the major stocks.

The other major index KMI-30 also showed weakness. The index opened at 241,920.00 points and touched a high of 243,607.22 points. Later, selling pressure took it to a low of 238,911.45 points. KMI-30 ended at 239,957.11 points, down 3,288.50 points or about 1.35%. The PSX daily market report also recorded the closing level of KMI-30 at 239,957.11 and a change of -3,288.50 points.

LUCK was the biggest negative contributor to the KMI-30. The stock shed 466.13 points from the index. OGDC shed 371.44 points and FFC shed 338.27 points. ENGROH shed 276.36 points while MARI shed 198.89 points.

On the other hand, ATRL supported the KMI-30 by 98.86 points. PPL shed 70.33 points and CPHL shed 8.63 points. Despite these major negative contributors, the overall decline in the index continued.

According to official PSX data, the total market volume in the September 14 session stood at 570.47 million shares, with 83 stocks moving up, 373 down and 113 unchanged. These figures indicate relatively widespread selling pressure in the market.

KSE-100 is the most important benchmark of the Pakistan Stock Exchange. It includes representation from various sectors along with the market’s major companies and, according to PSX, represents about 85% of the exchange’s total market capitalization.

The market has already seen increased volatility in recent days. On September 12, the KSE-100 index closed at 170,511.86 points, a day after the market had recovered.

The September 14 drop indicates that investors are cautious about taking new positions at this time. The market’s direction may be influenced by the prices of major stocks, trading volumes and global and domestic economic news in the next session. However, it would be premature to call a single-day performance a permanent trend.