Karachi, January 22, 2025: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a sharp decline for the second consecutive session, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing nearly 1,600 points lower due to significant selling pressure in the latter half of the trading day.
The session started with range-bound activity, as the KSE-100 hit an intra-day high of 115,256.16, gaining around 200 points compared to the previous day’s close. However, late-session selling led the index to an intra-day low of 113,359.38 before settling at 113,443.43, down by 1,598.82 points or 1.39%.
Key sectors, including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, fertilizers, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies (OMCs), and power generation, faced heavy selling. Index-heavy stocks such as HUBCO, SSGC, SNGP, OGDC, MARI, PPL, ENGRO, MEBL, NBP, and UBL traded in the red, dragging the index lower.
According to a note by Intermarket Securities, the drop in investor confidence was attributed to political uncertainties and market concerns surrounding the new US administration. “The market may remain range-bound until new positive triggers emerge,” the brokerage house noted.
On Tuesday, the KSE-100 had also witnessed a volatile session, closing lower by over 800 points at 115,042.25.
Global markets, in contrast, showed optimism on Wednesday due to robust corporate earnings and new policies announced by US President Donald Trump. Netflix shares surged 14% after a record increase in subscribers, lifting Nasdaq futures by 0.5% in Asia and S&P 500 futures by 0.2%.
Additionally, Trump revealed a joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle called Stargate, with plans to invest $500 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure, further boosting sentiment.
However, tariff uncertainty persisted as Trump hinted at fresh levies on the European Union and a potential 10% tariff on Chinese goods starting February 1.
The Pakistani rupee remained stable against the US dollar in the interbank market, depreciating marginally by 0.01% to close at 278.85.
Trading volume on the all-share index fell to 743.63 million shares, down from 767.27 million the previous day. However, the total value of traded shares rose to Rs35.24 billion from Rs31.83 billion.
WorldCall Telecom led the volume chart with 100.22 million shares traded, followed by Cnergyico PK (96.98 million shares) and Fauji Cement (83.55 million shares).
Out of 454 companies traded, 93 recorded gains, 307 registered losses, and 54 remained unchanged.
The session reflects ongoing volatility and investor caution amidst a mix of domestic and international economic and political factors.
