PSX plunges over 1,400 points as selling pressure mounts

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) came under selling pressure in Thursday’s session, with the KSE-100 Index falling 1,421.85 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 164,509.13 by midday. The market remained open, and the decline erased gains from the previous day.

The benchmark had closed Wednesday at 165,930.98 after rising 779 points. Today, it opened near its intraday high of 166,180.32 before sliding to a low of 164,186.90. Trading volume stood at 60.55 million shares, with a traded value of Rs5.11 billion so far.

Selling was visible across several heavyweight sectors, including oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, power generation, cement, automobile assemblers and refineries.

Read: PSX gains 779 points amid partial recovery

Index-heavy names such as OGDC, PPL, MARI, HUBCO, PSO, HBL and UBL traded lower. The move came after Wednesday’s rebound, which had been supported by selective institutional buying and optimism around diplomatic efforts on the US-Iran front along with the draft Auto Policy.

By early afternoon, the Index was trading near its session low, with the broader market reflecting cautious sentiment. Volumes remained moderate for a midday session, and further direction will depend on how the remaining trading hours unfold.