PSX gives up early gains as profit-taking takes hold

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surrendered most of its early gains on Tuesday as profit-taking emerged after the benchmark KSE-100 Index surged nearly 2,000 points in morning trading, though the market managed to finish marginally higher.

The index had climbed as much as 1,902.30 points, or 1.08%, to 177,830.03 points at 9:39am, as investor sentiment improved amid reports of mediation efforts between the United States and Iran. The benchmark later touched an intraday high of 178,370.46 points before retreating to a low of 176,062.70 points.

The KSE-100 eventually settled at 176,133.57 points, gaining 205.83 points, or 0.12%, from the previous close of 175,927.74.

According to Ahmed Sheraz of KASB KTrade, investor sentiment remained cautious as participants balanced optimism from selective buying against lingering geopolitical uncertainties and the ongoing corporate earnings season. He said oil prices remained broadly stable during the session, offering little fresh direction to the market, while investors continued to monitor developments in the Middle East and global markets.

Read: Selective buying helps PSX close in green

Meanwhile, market activity remained healthy, with total traded volume reaching 448 million shares. On the contribution front, UBL, Engro Holdings, Lucky Cement and Meezan Bank provided the biggest positive support to the index, whereas the Oil & Gas Development Company, Fauji Fertiliser, and Maple Leaf Cement weighed on overall performance.

Looking ahead, Sheraz said market swings were likely to persist as investors awaited further corporate earnings announcements while keeping a close eye on geopolitical developments and global oil prices. However, he noted that the market's ability to recover from sharp intraday swings and close in positive territory suggested that buying interest remained intact on dips.

Overall trading volume jumped to 1 billion shares from Monday’s total of 675.9 million while the value of traded shares stood at Rs35.7 billion. In the ready market, shares of 494 companies were traded, of which 268 stocks closed higher, 191 fell, and 35 remained unchanged.

Cnergyico Pk was the volume leader with trading in 70.2 million shares, losing Rs0.65 to close at Rs9.99.