The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced another negative session on Friday as its benchmark KSE-100 index closed 266 points lower amidst selling pressure. Initially, the KSE-100 displayed positivity, reaching an intra-day high of 65,534.02. However, profit-taking activities in the latter half of the session led to a decline, pushing the market into negative territory.
Closing at 65,151.83, the benchmark index concluded the day down by 265.57 points or 0.41%. This decline follows a previous session where the KSE-100 closed lower by 314.39 points as investors opted to capitalize on profits around the 66,000-point mark.
A significant development occurred as the Special Apex Committee of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) pledged to uphold policies and make “tough decisions” for the country’s greater good by setting appropriate economic priorities. The committee received a briefing on the SIFC initiative and its substantial contributions to investments, privatization, and overall micro-economic stabilization.
In line with conforming to the IMF agreement, the Petroleum Division revised its gas supply priorities, removing captive power plants from its list of prioritized sectors.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee showed marginal improvement against the US dollar, appreciating by 0.1% in the inter-bank market. The local unit closed at 278.14, up by Re0.27 against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.
Trading volume on the all-share index decreased to 208.40 million from 389.65 million in the previous session, with the value of shares declining from Rs11.30 billion to Rs7.15 billion.
Pak Reinsurance led in trading volume with 24.16 million shares, followed by P.I.A.C.(A) with 16.54 million shares, and P.T.C.L. with 10.93 million shares. Overall, shares of 332 companies were traded, with 120 recording an increase, 185 witnessing a fall, and 27 remaining unchanged.
