The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended Thursday’s session with a slight dip as traders stayed on the sidelines amid a mix of domestic and external pressures. The KSE-100 index gave up 151 points to close at 147,344, reflecting the lack of clear direction during a week dominated by contract rollovers.
Investors remained cautious in the wake of concerns over flood risks to agriculture in Punjab and a muted growth outlook signalled by the central bank. Softer crude oil prices internationally and rollover-linked volatility added to investor hesitation, keeping the overall activity in check.
Arif Habib Corp MD Ahsan Mehanti commented that stocks closed lower amid investor fears of devastating flood losses in Punjab that threaten agricultural growth amid central bank’s hints at thin FY26 growth.
Read: Extensive selling at PSX leads to fifth straight loss
“High leverage levels and pressure from futures contract rollovers as well as falling global crude oil prices were the catalysts for bearish close at the PSX,” he said.
KTrade Securities wrote in its market wrap that the PSX extended its consolidation phase, closing slightly lower amid volatility and futures rollover pressure. The index fell 151 points (-0.10% day-on-day) to close at 147,344, after briefly hitting the intra-day high of 148,042 points.
Sentiment remained cautious, with selling across key sectors like banking and fertiliser. Major laggards included Habib Bank, Fauji Fertiliser, Bank AL Habib, Faysal Bank, Systems Limited and MCB Bank.
Read More: PSX closes lower amid contract rollover pressure
Total market volumes reached 935 million shares. Pace (Pakistan) led the volumes with 71.5 million shares changing hands, followed by Bank Makramah (66 million) and Pak Elektron (51.2 million), it said.
On the positive side, selective buying in Sazgar Engineering, Lucky Cement and United Bank helped restrict losses.
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