On Thursday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a lively reversal while the early gains were destroyed by an intensive sale, triggered by a renewed political uncertainty.
The KSE-100 reference index, which had climbed to the intra-day summit of 151,250 points, dropped later, reaching the hollow of 148,273. It closed the day at 149,235, down 1,356 points, or 0.90%.
The sale emerged after the Supreme Court granted a deposit to the former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the affairs of May 9, which aroused uncertainty about political prospects. The major pressure comes from indexed sectors such as commercial banks, cement and fertilizers, which have undergone wide sales.
The director of the AKD Securities Research Mohammed Awais Ashraf told L’Express PK Press Club that the feeling of investors had become careful in the midst of political uncertainty following acceptance by the Supreme Court of Advocacy of Liberty under Caution by Imran Khan in the affairs of May 9.
“Nevertheless, we expect a drop in interest rates in the context of improving the macroeconomic backdrop and stability of the exchange rate to support the rally in equity,” he said and mentioned that KSE-100 had awarded 29% this year.
Read: SC grants Imran’s surety in the eight cases of May 9
KTRADE SECURITIES wrote in its market envelope that the KSE-100 reference index began to be negotiated on a positive note, but that the sale pressure emerged in the second half after the approval of the bond of Imran Khan by the Supreme Court.
Consequently, the index fell to an intra-day hollow of 148,273 (-2 318 points) from an intra-day summit of 151,250 (+659 points) and ended in the negative territory at 149,235 (-1,356 points).
The sale was observed in indexed sectors, including commercial banks, cement and fertilizers, which contributed 818 points, 187 points and 128 points to losses, said AKD.
ARIF HABIB LIMITED, deputy chief of trade, Ali Najib said that after three consecutive winning sessions, the PSX finally faced a wave of profits that led to the KSE-100 in the red.
The day started on a strong basis, the index reaching an intra-day summit of 151,250, reflecting the bullish momentum.
However, political noise changed the mood following media relationships on the former Prime Minister ensuring the surety. He sparked volatility and wiped out early gains, sending the market in a net slowdown, he said.
However, the storm quickly set up as a clarification that the ex-Prime would remain behind bars helped calm the feeling. “It was a session where politics overshadowed the fundamentals, transforming optimism into prudence, but a late recovery alluded to underlying resilience in the confidence of investors,” said Najib.
Global negotiation volumes increased to 1.1 billion shares, compared to the total of 667.8 million on Wednesday. The negotiated value amounted to Rs55.8 billion.
The actions of 480 companies have been negotiated. Among these, 130 advances, 323 fell and 27 remained unchanged. Fauji Foods was the volume leader with exchanges in 62.1 million shares, winning RS0.52 to end at Rs16.94.
