KARACHI: The Pakis­tan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a tumultuous session on Tuesday. Trading began in the red as nervous investors continued to cut their positions due to various political and economic concerns, which pushed the benchmark index below the 113,000 barrier intraday. However, the news of the scheduling of the IMF Board meeting lifted market sentiments and helped the index partially recover overnight losses.

Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the PSX turned bullish after reports of the IMF Executive Board meeting on May 9 to discuss the Staff-Level Agreement for the new $1.3 billion Resilience Support Fund and the first review of the $7bn Extended Fund Facility for approval of the $1bn disbursement.

Easing noise after the US, China and Turkiye urged the nuclear-armed neighbours to exercise restraint and the expected cut in the SBP policy rate led to a bullish close at the PSX.

Topline Securities Ltd said the index showed ag­­gr­essive fluctuations during the session. It dropped sha­rply by 1,128 points early in the day due to selling pressure, especially from leveraged investors. However, in the second half, the market staged a strong recovery, gaining 808.26 points or 0.71pc to settle at 114,872.18 points day-on-day

Market sentiment improved as margin-related selling eased, and investors began cherry-picking at lower attractive levels.

Key stocks like Engro Holdings, Mari Energies, Systems Ltd, MCB Bank, and Sui Northern Gas Pipeline mainly supported the recovery, adding 760 points to the index.

Ali Najib, Head of Sales at Insight Securities, noted that the positive closing of the benchmark index was achieved after a fierce battle between bulls and bears. However, media reports suggesting that the “Pehalgam Incident” may have been an inside job dampened market momentum, causing the index to close at the day’s low of 112,935.5. Additionally, it’s important to consider that “window dressing” could have influenced the market on the eve of the month’s close.

Market participation slowed further as the trading volume tumbled 3.3pc to 409.93 million shares while the traded value rose 9.85pc to Rs29.06 billion day-on-day.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2025