Stocks swing between gains and losses amid uncertainty

Selling across key sectors, political concerns and rising oil prices keep investors cautious

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile session on Wednesday, with the benchmark index swinging between positive and negative territory as investors remained cautious amid domestic political uncertainty and rising international oil prices.

The KSE-100 index stood at 164,807.98, up 31.54 points, or 0.02%, at midday. It touched an intraday high of 165,209.05 and a low of 164,060.33, reflecting choppy trading.

The market opened on a cautious note, with the index rising to 165,032.13, gaining 255.69 points, or 0.16%, by 9:33am.  However, fluctuations soon pushed the benchmark in both directions, erasing much of its early gains.

Sentiment remained subdued following the imposition of governor’s rule and an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), adding to investors’ concerns.

Selling pressure was visible across automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, power generation, refineries and oil marketing companies.

Read: Profit-taking erases early gains at PSX

Internationally, oil prices climbed on Wednesday after two vessels were struck in the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian officials announced new tactics to target ships, as Tehran seeks to keep oil prices high and influence the US midterm elections.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures rose 34 cents, or 0.3%, to $106.03 a barrel by 0630 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 28 cents, or 0.3%, to $94.42 a barrel. Both contracts had climbed by more than $1 in early trade.

Overall situation indicates thst the investors will continue to track domestic political developments and movements in international oil prices for direction in the latter half of the session.