KARACHI: Despite the resurgence of vigorous foreign buying on Wednesday, Pakistani shares resumed their downward trajectory amid expectations of a sixth consecutive interest rate drop next week. As a result of political and fiscal uncertainty, the benchmark KSE 100 index fell below the 114,000 barrier.
According to Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities Ltd., the local market was suffering as a result of the uncertainty around the new US tariffs and how they would affect various businesses. “In addition, selling by banks and individuals is putting pressure on share prices, according to data from the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Ltd,” he continued.
However, despite a number of trade measures promised by the new US president, especially on European and Chinese imports, the global share markets continued their bullish run for the second day in a row.
The benchmark KSE 100 index fell to an intraday low of 1,682 points after rising 213 points in early trading. It ended the day at 113,443, down 1,598 points or 1.39 percent.
According to Topline Securities, the main cause of the decline was the persistent selling pressure from banks, which tempered market sentiment and created a pessimistic tone. The cautious approach taken by investors accelerated the downward trend.
However, Arif Habib Corporation’s Ahsan Mehanti stated that the stock ended the day down due to concerns about the Tax Laws Amendment Bill 2024, which would forbid non-filers from buying more stock than a specific amount.
He noted that bearish action was assisted by the rupee’s instability, the ambiguity surrounding government-PTI talks, and the low price of crude oil globally.
The traded value increased 10.74 percent to Rs35.24 billion on a daily basis, but the trading volume decreased 3.08 percent to 743.63 million shares.
World Call Telecom (100.21 million shares), Cnergyico PK (96.97 million shares), Fauji Cement (83.55 million shares), Bank Makramah (30.54 million shares), and Lotte Chemical (21.83 million shares) were among the stocks that made up a sizable portion of the trading volume.
Unilever Foods (Rs349.99), Hoechst Pakistan (Rs183.27), Rafhan Maize (Rs72.66), Pakistan Engineering (Rs67.12), and Nestle Pakistan (Rs23.42) were the companies with the biggest absolute price increases.
Ismail Industries (Rs107.96), Mari Energies (Rs64.55), Sapphire Fibres (Rs42.89), Service Industries (Rs39.52), and Sazgar Engineering (Rs33.95) were the firms that saw the biggest drops in their share prices in absolute terms.
