During the first half of the trading day, the index experienced range-bound movement, reaching an intra-day high of 85,773.83. However, cautious sentiment in the second half caused the index to dip to an intra-day low of 85,120.90. By the close, the benchmark index stood at 85,250.09, down by 335.34 points or 0.39%.
“Profit-taking was seen across multiple sectors, putting pressure on the index throughout the day as investors booked gains after recent upward trends,” said brokerage firm Topline Securities in its post-market commentary. The exploration and production (E&P) and fertilizer sectors were the hardest hit, contributing 225 and 206 points to the decline, respectively, largely due to disappointing corporate earnings results.
On Thursday, the KSE-100 had already lost 620 points due to similar profit-taking activity, closing below the 86,000 mark.
In corporate news, Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL), a subsidiary of Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO), reported a loss of Rs2.35 billion for the quarter ending on September 30, 2024, compared to a profit-after-tax of Rs4.48 billion in the same period last year. The company’s financial performance was reviewed by its board of directors in a meeting on October 18.
In global markets, London stocks opened lower on Friday as investors digested higher-than-expected retail sales data. Despite the dip, both London indexes were set to break a two-week losing streak, driven by optimism around potential Bank of England rate cuts and positive corporate updates. The FTSE 100 index fell 0.4%, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 dropped 0.2%.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged 3.18%, gaining 637.78 points to close at 20,716.88, as investors welcomed new measures from China aimed at boosting the economy, alongside better-than-expected growth data. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.91%, while the Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 4.09%.
In currency markets, the Pakistani rupee recorded a slight gain against the US dollar, appreciating by 0.06% in the inter-bank market. By the close of Friday’s session, the currency settled at 277.61 against the dollar, up by Re0.18.
Trading volume on the all-share index dropped to 323.92 million shares from 513.29 million in the previous session, while the value of traded shares declined to Rs15.68 billion from Rs21.61 billion. Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) led the volume chart with 28.46 million shares, followed by Hub Power Co with 19.74 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 14.95 million shares. Out of 455 companies traded, 170 saw gains, 206 recorded losses, and 69 remained unchanged.
