Stocks fall over 900 points amid political uncertainty

KARACHI: Stocks could not sustain above the 80k mark and decreased sharply on Thursday amid political uncertainty and economic concerns.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 share index decreased by 927.68 points or 1.17 per cent to 78,469.33 points against 79,397.01 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 79,776.96 points while the lowest level was recorded at 78,330.59 points.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks fell across the board on political uncertainty.”He said investor concerns about settling Chinese IPPs dues, surging power tariffs impacting industrial earnings, political noise over banning opposition, limiting constitutional powers of the government, and a weak rupee played a catalyst role in the bearish close.

The KSE-30 index decreased by 319.86 points or 1.25 per cent to 25,198.26 points against 25,518.11 points.Traded shares decreased by 59 million shares to 327.279 million shares from 386.980 million shares. The trading value rose to Rs15.283 billion from Rs14.899 billion. Market capital narrowed to Rs10.457 trillion against Rs10.547 trillion. Of 445 companies active in the session, 135 closed in green, 263 in red and 47 remained unchanged.

Ali Najib, analyst at Topline Securities, said that continuing its Wednesday’s trend, equities recommenced the day on a positive note. Initially, the KSE-100 index witnessed bullish momentum and made an intraday high at 79,777 levels, an increment of 380 points (up 0.48 per cent).

However, the last hour’s out-of-the-blue selling spree dropped a bombshell on this bullish momentum. Resultantly, the benchmark index could not withstand negative headwinds and went into negative territory by losing all gains made in the earlier trading hours to call the day at 78,469 levels, a loss of 928 points (down 1.17 per cent).

During the day, blue-chip stocks like BAHL, HUBC, SYS, MCB and MEBL contributed negatively by losing 396 points, cumulatively. On the flip side, PSO, POL and APL saw some buying interest as they added 40 points.

The highest increase was recorded in PIA Holding Company LimitedB shares, which rose by Rs81.21 to Rs898 per share, followed by Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited, which increased by Rs69.76 to Rs7,576.42 per share. A significant decline was noted in Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which fell by Rs69.50 to Rs18,175 per share, Nestle Pakistan Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs63.04 to Rs6,956.96 per share.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd stated that KSE-100 failed to regain the crucial 80,000 mark on Thursday, triggering a downward move towards recent lows.

The market’s inability to reclaim the 80,000 level has shifted attention to the weekly support range of 77,500 to 78,000. Analysts are now closely monitoring these levels as potential support zones that could provide a base for future recovery.

Market sentiment remains cautious, with investors wary of further declines. The failure to hold above 80,000 has raised concerns about the market’s near-term direction, prompting a more defensive stance among traders.

The broader market trend reflects ongoing uncertainties, both domestically and internationally. Factors such as geopolitical tensions, economic instability, and fluctuating commodity prices continue to weigh on investor confidence.

Fauji Fert Bin remained the volume leader with 28.451 million shares which closed higher by 44 paisas to Rs42.71 per share. Hascol Petrol followed it with 17.867 million shares, which closed lower by 24 paisas to Rs6.45 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included Dewan Motors, Quice Food, PIA Holding Company, Agritech Limited, Silk Bank Ltd, Faysal Bank, WorldCall Telecom and Kohinoor Spining. In the futures market, 303 companies recorded trading, of which 59 increased, 239 decreased and 5 remained unchanged.