The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) concluded on a negative note today, as the benchmark KSE-100 index saw a decline of 1,088 points in intraday trade despite the formation of the federal government within the past 24 hours.
The KSE-100 index showed bearish sentiment right from the opening bell, slipping into the red zone and initially dropping by 1,077 points after trading commenced on Tuesday.
Starting the day at 65,755 points, the benchmark KSE-100 index dipped below 65,000 to reach 64,678 by 1:00 PM. Subsequently, at 1:05 PM, it saw a further drop of up to 1,087 points to 64,667.
Closing at 64,801, it marked a decline of 1.45 per cent or 954 points.
READ ALSO — PSX Bounces Back Above 61,000 After a Drop of Over 1,400 Points During Trading
Today’s downturn follows remarks from the new Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb, who described 2024 as economically challenging for Pakistan and stressed the need for action rather than mere discussion.
Market bears were also influenced by the potential introduction of new austerity measures to secure a swift deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF’s review mission is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on Thursday for an economic assessment of Pakistan’s $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) and the disbursement of the third and final loan tranche of $1.1 billion, according to sources from the Finance Ministry.
The most active trading was observed in Hascol Petroleum Limited (PSX: HASCOL), with over 29.3 million shares traded, followed by Pakistan International Airlines Corp (PSX: PIAA) and Cnergyico PK Limited (PSX: CNERGY), with 28.9 million shares and 25.5 million shares traded, respectively.
Top Volumes
| SCRIP | PRICE | HIGH | LOW | CHANGE | VOLUME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HASCOL | 8.1 | 8.85 | 8.1 | -0.36 | 29,322,000 |
| PIAA | 18.34 | 19.38 | 17.31 | 0.07 | 28,898,000 |
| CNERGY | 4.77 | 5.13 | 4.75 | -0.34 | 25,500,737 |
| KOSM | 4.7 | 5.29 | 4.68 | -0.6 | 23,964,000 |
| AIRLINK | 61.62 | 68.5 | 61.5 | -3.58 | 18,280,574 |
| PTC | 13.08 | 13.68 | 12.75 | -0.3 | 18,051,998 |
| KEL | 4.56 | 4.74 | 4.45 | -0.17 | 14,363,496 |
