PSX
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) faced significant selling pressure on Thursday, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index dropped over 1,500 points during intra-day trading. By 11:50 AM, the index stood at 110,889.39, reflecting a sharp decline of 1,525.41 points or 1.36%.
Key sectors, including cement, commercial banks, fertilizers, and refineries, were notably impacted, with major stocks such as NRL, HUBCO, MARI, POL, ENGRO, HBL, FABL, and SILK trading in negative territory.
The trading day came after a public holiday on Wednesday, with the PSX already experiencing volatility earlier in the week. On Tuesday, the KSE-100 Index had closed at 112,414.81 points, marking a drop of 1,509.61 points or 1.33%, as rollover and year-end selling pressures dominated investor sentiment.
The sustained bearish trend has raised concerns among investors, highlighting the vulnerability of the market to both domestic and global factors.
Globally, Asian markets showed a slight uptick in holiday-thinned trading on Thursday, continuing earlier gains but without any significant developments to shift trends.
Asian shares experienced modest gains, influenced by Wall Street’s earlier performance. The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose by 0.04%, setting up for a nearly 2% weekly gain.
However, trading volumes remained subdued as markets in Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand were closed for a holiday.
Investors globally remain cautious, focusing on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy direction. Comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested fewer interest rate cuts next year, with traders now anticipating about 35 basis points of easing in 2025.
This stance has pushed US Treasury yields higher and strengthened the dollar, adding pressure to commodities and gold prices.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield stayed steady at 4.5967%, having previously risen above 4.6% for the first time since May.
Similarly, the two-year yield climbed to 4.3407%. The dollar’s strength has weighed on emerging markets and commodity prices, adding to the pressures faced by exchanges like the PSX.
The combination of domestic challenges, such as sector-specific sell-offs, and global trends, including the dollar’s strength and rising yields, has created a challenging trading environment for the PSX as the year-end approaches.
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