War tensions trigger PSX slide
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its downtrend and endured a turbulent start to Wednesday's session, with the KSE-100 Index nosediving over 6,500 points shortly after the open, dragged lower by heightened border tensions.
The market briefly touched a low of 107,007.68 before staging a partial rebound, ultimately climbing to an intra-day high of 112,457.38 and closing the day over 3,500 points down.
Selling was broad-based, with intense pressure seen in key economic sectors such as banking, energy exploration, oil marketing, power generation, and refining.
AKD Securities Director Research Muhammad Awais Ashraf told The Express Tribune recent Military escalation between Pakistan and India has shaken investor confidence, though some see a buying opportunity, citing low war risk due to nuclear deterrents and urgent external financing pressures.
JS Global Head of Equity Research Waqas Ghani said the index dropped 6,500 points before closing 3,559 lower, with the rebound showing investor confidence in fundamentals and hopes of de-escalation improving sentiment ahead.
Arif Habib Corp MD Ahsan Mehanti wrote in his brief note, "Stocks closed sharply lower amid escalating border tensions between Pakistan and India, and security unrest following Indian strikes."
Weak rupee and uncertain economic outlook amid the Pak-India conflict over trade ties played the role of catalyst in the bearish close, he remarked.
At the close of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index posted a massive loss of 3,559.48 points, or -3.13%, and settled at 110,009.03.
Topline Securities wrote in its review that the benchmark index saw significant volatility, dropping by 6,561 points in early trade amid broad-based panic selling following an overnight military clash between Pakistan and India.
The downward trajectory of the index was largely driven by negative contributions from key stocks such as cement, energy, bank, and technology, which collectively dragged the index down by 967 points, Topline noted.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL) wrote in its report said that the KSE-100 index saw a sharp decline of 3.13% day-on-day, precisely hitting the 110k downside target.
Only 5 shares advanced while 95 declined. Lucky Cement (-5.69%), Hub Power (-4.64%), and United Bank (-2.6%), were the majors laggards on index's fall.
On the other hand, Pakgen Power (2.48%), Nestle Pakistan (1.63%), and Murree Brewery (2.22%), resisted the broader negative trend, it said.
Geopolitical tensions escalated following reports of Indian strikes inside Pakistan that discouraged investor sentiment.
Wednesday's session also opened with another "New Day Opening Gap" — the third visible gap since the index peaked at 120k - reinforcing clear bearish order flow, AHL added.
Insight Securities Head of Sales Ali Najib wrote that border tensions rattled investor confidence, triggering panic selling even before the market officially opened. Though the index plunged over 5.7% within minutes of opening, value hunters swiftly stepped in to help market stage a partial recovery.
Overall trading volumes increased to 550.2 million shares compared with Tuesday's tally of 420.6 million.
Shares of 447 companies were traded. Of these, 49 stocks closed higher, 356 fell and 42 remained unchanged.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with trading in 53.7 million shares, falling Rs0.11 to close at Rs1.22.It was followed by The Bank of Punjab with 35.8 million shares, losing Rs0.61 to close at Rs9.18 and Sui South Gas Company with 26.8 million shares, dipping by Rs3.61 to close at Rs32.47.
During the day, foreign investors bought shares worth Rs194.7 billion, the NCCPL reported.