PSX tumbles 3,700 points on security shocks

KSE-100 index slides below 185k as Islamabad blast triggers market rout

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed heavy selling on Friday as the benchmark KSE-100 index plunged over 3,700 points to close at 184,130, with investors rattled by security concerns, negative sector-specific developments and weak sentiment in index-heavy stocks.

Market participants reacted sharply to Barrick Mining Corporation's statement regarding heightened security incidents around the Reko Diq project, which dragged exploration and production heavyweights OGDC and PPL lower, while losses in NBP ahead of a key pension case hearing further weighed on the index.

Sentiment deteriorated further following a deadly suicide bombing in Islamabad during Friday prayers, triggering broad-based selling and a flight to safety across sectors.

Topline Securities noted that the KSE-100 index largely traded in the negative zone and closed at 184,130 (down 3,702 points, or 1.97%). The pressure in the market can be attributed to Barrick Mining's statement that the Reko Diq copper-gold project site in 4Q is in advance works, although in light of a recent increase in security incidents, the management is currently reviewing all aspects of the project.

Following the news, index heavyweights OGDC and PPL lost value to close down by 2.3% and 5% respectively and cumulatively erased 489 points from the index. Meanwhile, NBP closed down by 8%, wiping off 406 points from the index, as the upcoming court hearing related to the pension case on February 13 adversely impacted investor sentiment, Topline said.

Arif Habib Limited (AHL) noted that declines in Friday's session wiped out earlier gains, leaving the market flat on a week-on-week basis. Market breadth remained weak on Friday, with only 13 shares advancing against 86 decliners.

K-Electric (+7.58%), Sazgar Engineering (+3.36%) and Pioneer Cement (+2.55%) contributed the most to index gains, while NBP (-8.01%), Fauji Fertiliser Company (-2.25%) and Pakistan Petroleum (-5.01%) emerged as the biggest drags on the benchmark.

Sentiment turned negative in the afternoon session after a deadly blast at a mosque in Pakistan's capital that reportedly killed at least 31 people and injured over hundred, adding pressure on equities.

On the macro front, investors remained cautious ahead of an expected IMF delegation's visit later this month for the third review of Pakistan's economic programme, while news that Pakistan is likely to be included in JPMorgan's planned new index tracking frontier market local currency bonds created some optimism, AHL said.

Muhammad Hasan Ather of JS Global said that the KSE-100 faced a major setback, plunging 3,702 points to close at 184,130. The "bloodbath" was triggered by a tragic suicide bombing in Islamabad during Friday prayers. This grave security breach immediately dampened investor sentiment, leading to a flight to safety and widespread selling across the board as the capital was placed on high alert.

In the short term, the market remains fragile as investors assess the internal security landscape. There was expectation that 180,000 would act as a crucial psychological floor, with a sustained recovery contingent on the restoration of stability and calm, he said.

Overall trading volumes were recorded at 1.27 billion shares compared with the previous session's tally of 1.19 billion. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs60.36 billion.

Shares of 480 companies were traded. Of these, 113 stocks closed higher, 323 fell, and 44 remained unchanged.

K-Electric was the volume leader with trading in 518 million shares, gaining Rs0.63 to close at Rs8.94. It was followed by National Bank with 51 million shares, losing Rs22.94 to close at Rs263.48 and First National Equities with 50 million shares, losing Rs0.09 to close at Rs1.63.

Foreign investors sold shares worth Rs2.1 billion, the National Clearing Company reported.