PSX tumbles over 1,490 points amid heavy selling

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed significant selling pressure on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding 1,492.16 points, or 0.83 per cent, to reach 177,591.64 during midday trading.

The index initially climbed to an intraday high of 180,310.44 before reversing its gains and falling to a low of 177,317.80. It had closed at 179,083.80 in the previous session.

Trading volume in index-listed shares reached 164.54 million, with transactions valued at Rs15.22 billion.

The downturn followed Wednesday’s session, when the benchmark index closed 251.44 points, or 0.14 per cent, lower after late-session profit-taking wiped out earlier gains that had briefly pushed it above the 180,000 mark.

Heavy selling was witnessed across major sectors, including commercial banking, cement, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing and power generation.

Several heavyweight stocks, including HUBCO, OGDC, PPL, PSO, HBL, MCB, MEBL and UBL, traded in negative territory, adding to the overall pressure on the market.

Market participants appeared to be booking profits following recent gains, triggering a broad-based decline.

Despite Thursday’s midday setback, the benchmark index remained higher on a weekly and monthly basis. The final market performance will depend on trading activity during the remaining session.