KEY POINTS
- The benchmark KSE-100 Index sheds 3,790 points.
- The largest single-day decline in PSX history.
- 1,111,921,053 shares traded during the day.
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange continued its bearish trend on Wednesday, as the KSE-100 Index plunged 3,790.39 points, a historic single-day loss.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 111,070.29 points showing a decline of 3.3%.
The market had earlier touched 116,236.70 points, but the substantial decline in the latter half of the trading session forced authorities to pause trading to prevent further volatility.
The substantial drop in the market, driven by various economic and political factors, has raised concerns among investors. This is KSE-100’s “largest single-day decline in its history,” said Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in a note.
Selling was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, PRL, NRL, SSGC, SNGP, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, ENGRO, HBL, MCB, MEBL and UBL settled in the red.
On Wednesday a total of 1,111,921,053 shares were traded during the day as compared to 1,252,980,316 shares the last trading day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs 60.242 billion against Rs. 62.722 billion on the previous working day.
As many as 472 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 89 of them registered gains, and 349 met losses, whereas the share price of 34 companies remained unchanged.
The three top trading companies were WorldCall Telecom 139,290,885 shares at Rs 1.71 per share followed by Cnergyico PK with 67,462,895 shares at Rs 6.54 per share whereas Bank of Punjab settled with 60,162,802 shares at Rs.10.17 per share.
Al-Ghazi Tractors Limited witnessed a maximum increase of Rs.51.29 per share price, closing at Rs.564.23, whereas Indus Motor Company Limited was the runner-up with Rs 43.66 rise in its per share price to Rs 2,058.57.
Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited witnessed a maximum decline of Rs 107.16 per share closing at Rs 20,892.86 followed by Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited with a drop of Rs 98.02 to close at Rs.8,902.00.
The downturn was attributed to a combination of factors, including cautious expectations regarding the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) monetary policy easing amid various risks.
Analysts voiced concerns over a potential shortfall in government tax collection, weak global crude oil prices, and ongoing issues with meeting IMF targets as key contributors to the market’s bearish trend.
Despite an initial rally following the SBP’s 200-basis-point (bps) rate cut, the market saw significant volatility.
