The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a tug-of-war between the bulls and bears on Monday, as the index swung between a high of 116,659 (+1,190 points) before sweeping downwards to a low of 113,868 (-1,601 points). The KSE-100 index ultimately closed at 114,063.90, a decline of 1,405.45 points, or 1.22%.
Analysts noted that the geo-political tensions following India's suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, as well as stalled bilateral trade and escalating tensions between the two countries played a catalyst role in the bearish close.
According to Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp, stocks fell across the board as investors eyed heightened geopolitical tensions following India's suspension of the Indus Water Treaty and stalled bilateral trade.
He added that concerns over deteriorating Pak-India trade ties, and cross-border tensions played a catalyst role in the bearish close at PSX.
At the close of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decrease of 1,405.45 points, or 1.22%, and settled at 114,063.90.
In its market review, Topline Securities stated that today's trading session witnessed "a classic tug-of-war between bulls and bears." The index opened on a positive note, gaining strong momentum in the early hours, to register an intraday high of 1,189 points. However, the optimism proved short-lived, as intensified selling pressure later in the session caused the index to reverse sharply, touching an intraday low of 1,601 points, noted the brokerage.
It added that the prevailing negative sentiment was largely driven by escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, which heightened investor concerns and weighed heavily on overall market confidence.
On the positive side, Systems Limited, Lucky Cement, Meezan Bank, and HBL collectively contributed 489 points to the index. Conversely, the bulk of the negative impact came from Engro Holdings, UBL, Mari Petroleum, Engro Fertiliser, and PSO, which together shaved off 907 points from the benchmark, Topline stated.
Despite the risk-averse sentiment, overall market participation remained firm, with volumes clocking in at 421 million shares and a turnover of Rs26.43 billion, it mentioned.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL) in its commentary said that the week started off poorly due to tensions between India and Pakistan, impacting sentiment to hit the weekly downside objective of 113,700 points on Monday.
Some 25 shares rose while 73 fell, with Engro Holdings (-6.21%), UBL (-3.32%) and Mari Petroleum (-2.45%) contributing the most to index declines. On the flip side, Systems Limited (+7.39%), Lucky Cement (+2.45%) and Meezan Bank (+2.08%) were the biggest upside contributors, observed AHL.
It added that Indus Motor Company Limited announced 9MFY25 earnings per share (EPS) of Rs210.62, representing a 76% year-on-year (YoY) increase, and DPS of Rs126.0 per share, beating expectations.
Additionally, Lucky Cement reported 9MFY25 EPS of Rs18.67, a 46% YoY increase, coming above expectations as well.
Fauji Fertiliser Company reported 1QFY25 EPS of Rs12.39, a 25% YoY increase, and DPS of Rs7.0, also surpassing expectations, noted AHL.
It concluded that the market can see a bounce once 113,700 points are taken out, but the bias remains to the downside against the "Indus Water Treaty Gap."
Ali Najib from Insight Securities remarked in his review that "markets thrive amidst positive vibes, not in warmongering!" Indeed, one can expect a short-lived rally but sustainable positive momentum is unlikely till the recent escalation between India and Pakistan gets settled. That's the tale of today's trading session, he asserted.
Overall trading volumes decreased to 423.9 million shares compared with Friday's tally of 471.1 million.
Shares of 449 companies were traded. Of these, 93 stocks closed higher, 313 fell and 43 remained unchanged.
Bank of Punjab was the volume leader with trading in 23.7 million shares, falling Rs0.41 to close at Rs9.3. It was followed by Power Cement with trading in 21.6 million shares, falling Rs0.99 to close at Rs13.29 and WorldCall Telecom with 18.3 million shares, falling Rs0.03 to close at Rs1.26.
During the day, foreign investors bought shares worth 209.2 million, the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) reported.
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