KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended Thursday’s session with a slight dip as traders stayed on sidelines amid a mix of domestic and external pressures. The KSE-100 index gave up 150.52 points, or 0.10%, to close at 147,343.51, reflecting a clear lack of direction during a week dominated by contract rollovers.
Investors remained cautious over risks of flood damage to agriculture in Punjab and a muted growth outlook signalled by the central bank. Softer crude oil prices internationally and rollover-linked volatility added to investor hesitation, keeping the overall activity in check.
Arif Habib Corp MD Ahsan Mehanti commented that stocks closed lower amid investor fears of widespread flood losses in Punjab that threaten agricultural growth. “High leverage levels and pressure from futures contract rollovers as well as falling global crude oil prices were the catalysts for bearish close at the PSX,” he said.
KTrade Securities wrote in its market wrap that the PSX extended its consolidation phase, closing slightly lower amid volatility and futures rollover pressure. The index fell 151 points to close at 147,344, after briefly hitting the intra-day high of 148,042.
Sentiment remained cautious, with selling across key sectors like banking and fertiliser. Major laggards included Habib Bank, Fauji Fertiliser, Bank AL Habib, Faysal Bank, Systems Limited and MCB Bank. On the positive side, selective buying in Sazgar Engineering, Lucky Cement and United Bank helped restrict losses, it said.
Investor concerns were further fuelled by ongoing flooding in parts of Pakistan, raising fears of disruption to economic activity. Combined with rollover-linked volatility, the market is expected to remain range bound in the near term, KTrade noted.
JS Global analyst Mohammed Waqar Iqbal said that the benchmark index remained volatile and ended the day nearly flat. The choppy trade was mainly driven by the rollover week activity, while investor sentiment was also slightly dampened by concerns over potential flood risks in parts of Punjab. Major drags were commercial banks, fertiliser and power generation sectors, which shaved 532 points off the index, he said.
