PSX slips 638 points on profit-booking

KSE-100 settles at 177,624; banks, oil & gas and cement stocks weigh, while refinery and insurance shares outperform

KARACHI:

Profit-taking after the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) strong rally a day earlier dragged the benchmark KSE-100 Index lower on Tuesday, as investors moved to lock in gains while selective buying kept the market activity robust. The index fell 638.45 points, or 0.36%, to settle at 177,623.88.

The benchmark touched an intraday high of 179,123.01 and a low of 177,434.96.

Earlier in the session, the KSE-100 index dropped to 177,914.38 at 9:39am, reflecting a decline of 347.95 points, or 0.20%, before trimming some of its losses.

According to Ahmed Sheraz of KASB KTrade, the market witnessed a mixed session after the benchmark had rallied more than 4% in the previous trading day, with investors opting for selective profit-taking while buying interest persisted in certain sectors.

On the index contribution front, United Bank, the Oil & Gas Development Company, Hub Power and Pakistan Petroleum weighed on the benchmark, while Adamjee Insurance, Attock Refinery, Engro Holdings and Interloop provided positive support.

Read: In powerful rebound, PSX surges 7,200 points

Sector-wise, commercial banks, oil and gas and cement stocks remained under pressure, whereas insurance and refinery stocks outperformed. Refinery stocks also attracted buying interest following reports regarding the refinery policy, helping the sector outperform during the session.

On the corporate front, Pakistan Telecommunication reported a strong six-month result, posting a notable turnaround on a consolidated basis from a loss of Rs9.8 billion in the same period last year to a profit of Rs4.6 billion.

Sheraz said investors would likely remain focused on policy developments, corporate earnings and sector-specific news flow, alongside developments in the Middle East, for further market direction.

Overall, trading volume decreased to 958 million shares compared with Monday’s total of 1.03 billion. Meanwhile, shares of 495 companies were traded, of which 156 stocks closed higher, 306 fell and 33 remained unchanged.

Cnergyico PK was the volume eader with trading in 273.1 million shares, rising Rs0.19 to close at Rs10.95