Profit-taking drags PSX down by 292 points

Futures rollover pressure, absence of market-moving news keep sentiment fragile

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed volatile trading on Tuesday as the benchmark KSE-100 index closed in the red because of late-session profit-taking that erased early gains.

After touching the intra-day high of 162,820, the index failed to sustain the momentum and slipped to the low of 161,277 before settling at 161,692.49. By the closing bell, the market had recorded a decline of 291.59 points, or 0.18%. Market sentiment weakened towards midday as profit-booking intensified across index-heavy sectors such as oil & gas exploration, banking and power generation.

KTrade Securities wrote in its market wrap that PSX remained range bound with subdued participation as low volumes continued to cap momentum. The KSE-100 index lost 292 points (-0.18%) day-on-day.

The index faced pressure stemming mainly from Engro Holdings, Pakistan Petroleum, NBP, Bank AL Habib and Hub Power, all of which contributed to the day's decline, it said. On the positive side, the fertiliser sector outperformed, led by gains in Fauji Fertiliser. Lucky Cement and Bank Alfalah also performed well.

KTrade expected sentiment to stay cautious, with investors likely focusing on rollover-driven flows and upcoming macroeconomic catalysts. The KSE-100 saw a marginal decline as it continued to trade around the 162k level, Arif Habib Limited (AHL) commented. Some 29 shares rose while 67 fell with Fauji Fertiliser (+0.99%), Lucky Cement (+0.83%) and Bank Alfalah (+1.78%) contributing the most to index gains. Conversely, Engro Holdings (-1.92%), Pakistan Petroleum (-1.05%) and NBP (-1.14%) were the biggest index drags, it said.

AHL mentioned that Afghanistan accused Pakistan's forces of carrying out strikes in eastern Afghanistan, which renewed border tensions after talks to end clashes collapsed.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's order to immediately abolish the export development surcharge was an important step to lower the cost of doing business for exporters, it added.

Topline Securities observed that the local bourse experienced a turbulent session on Tuesday, swinging between gains and losses as volatility took centre stage. Rollover pressure ahead of futures contract expiry coupled with persistent absence of major market-moving news kept sentiment fragile throughout the day, it said.

The benchmark index touched the intra-day high of 835 points before reversing sharply to the intra-day low of 707 points. By the close, the index settled at 161,692, down 292 points, it added.

JS Global analyst Muhammad Hasan Ather commented that PSX witnessed another dull session as many investors preferred to remain on the sidelines owing to the rollover week and absence of triggers.

The KSE-100 index moved between 162,820 (+835 points) and 161,277 (-708 points) and eventually closed with a minor loss of 292 points at 161,692. He advised investors to adopt a "buy-on-dips" stance with focus on oil & gas and cement stocks.

Overall trading volumes increased to 590.5 million shares compared with Monday's tally of 490.3 million. The value of traded shares stood at Rs22.1 billion.

During the day, shares of 477 companies were traded. Of these, 155 closed higher, 284 fell and 38 remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with trading in 59.2 million shares, losing Rs0.05 to close at Rs1.85. Foreign investors sold shares worth Rs191.9 million.