PSX marks impressive 3,200-point recovery a day after record drop in shares

Published
0
Activity at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Dec 20, 2024.— PSX data portal
Activity at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Dec 20, 2024.— PSX data portal

Bulls managed to regain hold of the trade floor after three days as shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged by over 3,200 points on Friday.

The surge comes a day after the benchmark KSE-100 index suffered the largest single-day point-wise loss of 3,790 points on unabated across-the-board selling pressure.

The KSE-100 index climbed by 3,238.17, or 3.05 per cent, to close at 109,513.14 points from the previous close of 106,274.97 at the end of today’s session.

The index lost over 5,000 points or 4.4pc in the previous two sessions post-rate cut, which could be classified as nervous selling if it was called panic-offloading despite positive economic indicators.

Tahir Abbas of Arif Habib Ltd (AHL) told Dawn yesterday that the correction was healthy since the market had consistently set records in recent weeks.

Bears had maintained control of the stock market for three days following the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)’s announcement of a 200bps rate cut, coupled with guidance indicating a likely modest uptick in inflation in the coming months.

On Monday, SBP had reiterated that core inflation, which stood at 9.7pc, was “proving to be sticky, whereas inflation expectations of consumers and businesses remain volatile”, decidin on a cautious key interest rate cut of 200bps amid demands of a major rate cut.

Yesterday’s bearish momentum was attributed to a National Assembly bill aimed at targeting non-filers and restricting their ability to invest in mutual funds or maintain bank accounts, creating concern among investors.

However, analysts had assured that such broad-based compliance would ultimately benefit the equity market in the long run and is unlikely to have a significant impact on investment flows in the medium term.

Moreover, analysts had also attributed the decline to “stock-specific selling due to overvaluation concerns”.

Follow Dawn Business on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Fixing bond markets
01 Oct, 2026

Fixing bond markets

THE plan to deepen the domestic local currency bond market by allowing the public to trade government securities...
Call centre rackets
01 Oct, 2026

Call centre rackets

A NUMBER of recent raids conducted by the authorities in different cities point to the growing threat fraudulent ...
Homeward bound
01 Oct, 2026

Homeward bound

FIVE months after Somali pirates captured an oil tanker carrying a 19-member multinational crew, Somali maritime...
Kashmir unresolved
Updated 30 Sep, 2026

Kashmir unresolved

The just solution lies in India addressing the issue through a trilateral dialogue involving the legitimate representatives of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan.
Water shortage
30 Sep, 2026

Water shortage

THAT the country is entering the Rabi season with an anticipated water shortage of nearly 25pc, the lowest carryover...
Young hearts
30 Sep, 2026

Young hearts

THE observance may have passed, but the message of World Heart Day should not fade with it. The occasion is a useful...