The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a turbulent trading session on Friday, with the KSE-100 Index ultimately closing flat despite an early surge. The session began on a positive note, with the index reaching an intra-day high of 79,173.94. However, late-session selling pressure dragged the index below the 79,000 mark.
By the end of the day, the KSE-100 settled at 78,801.43, posting a marginal gain of just 8.01 points or 0.01%.
“The market remained volatile throughout the session, ending the day nearly flat,” noted Ismail Iqbal Securities in their post-market analysis. The report highlighted increased activity in the pharmaceutical sector, which benefited from improved results following the deregulation of non-essential drug prices.
Sectors contributing positively included pharmaceuticals, chemicals, banking, oil marketing companies (OMCs), and textiles. Conversely, sectors such as cement, automotive, exploration & production (E&P), power, and technology closed in the red.
Topline Securities pointed out that while the KSE-100 remained mostly in the positive zone, late-session profit-taking led to the flat close.
On Thursday, the KSE-100 had gained 533 points in a bullish session, attributed to lower cut-off yields. For the week, the index rose by 0.97%, largely driven by declining yields in the T-Bill auction, reflecting investor expectations of a policy rate cut due to the downward trend in inflation.
Globally, European markets opened higher on Friday, anticipating a speech by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Meanwhile, China’s stocks recovered after three days of losses, though Hong Kong shares fell in line with regional trends. Indian markets remained relatively unchanged as investors awaited Powell’s speech for further cues.
The Pakistani rupee showed slight improvement against the US dollar, appreciating by 0.06% in the inter-bank market to close at 278.50.
Trading volume on the all-share index decreased to 682.41 million shares from 804.26 million on Thursday, while the value of shares traded rose to Rs18.17 billion from Rs16.97 billion.
Kohinoor Spinning led the trading volume with 81.71 million shares, followed by K-Electric Ltd with 71.85 million shares, and Pace (Pak) Ltd with 36.74 million shares. Out of 451 companies traded, 192 saw gains, 199 recorded losses, and 60 remained unchanged.
