PSX Extends Losses as Investors Remain Cautious Over Middle East Tensions
KSE-100 Index falls more than 703 points during Friday’s first trading session
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its downward trend on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing more than 703 points during the first half of the trading session.
According to exchange data, the KSE-100 stood at 167,933.14 points at the Friday prayers break, down 703.71 points, or 0.42%, from Thursday’s closing level of 168,636.85.
The index opened near 168,639 points and briefly climbed to an intraday high of 168,854.46. However, selling pressure later pushed the benchmark to a low of 167,685.42, resulting in a movement of around 1,169 points during the session.
By around 10am, the index had already fallen 341 points to 168,296.
Selling Pressure Across Key Sectors
Selling was observed across several major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement companies, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration firms, oil marketing companies and power companies.
Several major stocks, including ARL, HUBC, PSO, SSGC, HBL, NBP and UBL, were trading in negative territory during the morning session.
Trading activity remained significant, with around 67.51 million shares changing hands at a total value of approximately Rs3.89 billion.
Pakistan International Bulk Terminal recorded the highest trading volume at 14.51 million shares and declined 2.31%. K-Electric followed with 12.14 million shares, while Cnergyico recorded trading volume of 9.22 million shares.
Maple Leaf Cement and Lotte Chemical were also among the actively traded stocks, with both shares trading lower.
Middle East Developments Weigh on Sentiment
The latest decline followed Thursday’s session, when the KSE-100 Index fell 1,332.47 points, or 0.78%, to close at 168,636.85.
Market sentiment has remained cautious amid developments in the Middle East, higher crude oil prices and reports of increased US military activity in the Gulf.
Investors are also monitoring international economic indicators, including upcoming US employment data, for possible implications for global financial markets.
The second trading session is scheduled to resume after Friday prayers. Market participants will be watching whether buying interest returns in major banking and energy stocks or whether selling pressure continues during the remainder of the session.
