KARACHI – The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday experienced a significant surge in selling pressure, resulting in a sharp decline of over 840 points in the KSE-100 index during intraday trading.
At 10am, the market was at 47,344.53 points. However, by 11:25am, selling pressure intensified, causing the index to plummet to 46,936.03 points. There was a slight recovery to 47,000.85 points by 12:15 pm. Unfortunately, within 45 minutes, it took a steep dive to 46,757.67 points. The slide continued, and by 1:40pm, the index reached 46,634.48 points, marking a decrease of 844.13 points (1.78%) from the previous day’s close.
According to Raza Jafri, the Head of Equity at Intermarket Securities, the decline in the KSE can be attributed to the underwhelming earnings performance of technology stocks. This added to the existing pessimism stemming from political and economic uncertainties.
Jafri also highlighted the absence of significant triggers in the market, as the next IMF review was not expected for several months, which negatively impacted the investment climate.
The gloomy sentiment observed on Tuesday was a carryover from the previous day when rumors of an impending policy rate hike had triggered profit-taking by some investors. This strategic move not only caused the market to shed some of its previously gained value but also led to the index entering unfavourable territory, as noted in Topline Securities’ daily market report.
