KARACHI, Feb 19 – Selling pressure gripped the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index shed nearly 1,000 points within minutes of opening trade.
By 9:20am, the index hovered at 177,898.77, down 954.32 points, or 0.53%, reflecting broad-based weakness across major sectors. Investors offloaded positions in cement, commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies, power generation and refinery stocks.
Index-heavy shares including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, PSO, SNGPL, MCB, MEBL and NBP traded in negative territory, weighing on the benchmark. Market participants cited profit-taking and cautious sentiment after recent volatility.
However, the decline followed a sharp rebound on Wednesday, when aggressive buying lifted the KSE-100 to close at 178,853.10 points. Both institutional and retail investors returned to accumulate stocks, capitalising on attractive valuations after consecutive losses in earlier sessions.
Privatisation move and global cues shape sentiment
Meanwhile, the Privatisation Commission Board, chaired by Muhammad Ali, formed a Negotiation Committee to engage with the Asian Development Bank on a potential Financial Advisory Services Agreement linked to the proposed privatisation of Islamabad International Airport.
Internationally, Asian markets advanced, supported by gains in U.S. technology shares. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5%, while Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.85%. South Korea’s Kospi surged nearly 3% to a record high.
Additionally, the dollar firmed after Federal Reserve minutes signalled no immediate rate cuts, while oil and gold prices remained supported amid persistent geopolitical tensions.
