KARACHI: After reac­h­­­ing an unprecedented peak above 126,500 in ear­ly trade on Thursday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) suffered marginal losses as investors opted to take profits at inflated levels towards the end of the session, forcing the benchmark KSE 100 index to close in the red.

Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading Arif Habib Ltd, said the market witnessed a dramatic session on Thursday, with the KSE-100 index closing at 124,093.12, down 259.56 or 0.21 per cent day-on-day. The day began on a strong note, carrying forward Wednesday’s bullish momentum as the index surged to an intraday high of 126,718.28, decisively breaching the psychological barriers of 125,000 and 126,000 in one go. However, profit-taking in the latter half of the session erased early gains, dragging the index back into negative territory.

The pullback comes after several sessions of aggressive rallying, primarily driven by improved investor sentiment, which was bolstered by robust remittance inflows of $3.7 billion in May, continued fiscal discipline in the FY26 budget, and declining cut-off yields in the latest T-bill auction. Market optimism remains supported by expectations of a potential policy rate cut in the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting scheduled for June 16.

Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the market came under pressure due to geopolitical uncertainty and post-budget profit-taking in overbought scrips.

The rout in global equities, driven by Middle East tensions and geopolitical risk, a slump in international crude oil prices, and a weak rupee due to contracting exports, led to the bearish close at the PSX, he added.

Topline Securities attri­buted the downward pressure to declines in Engro Holdings, Fauji Fertiliser, Pakistan Petroleum, Oil and Gas Development Co­­m­pany, and Bank Alfalah, which collectively eroded 401 points from the index. Conversely, support came from Packages Ltd, United Bank, Bank Al-Habib, Lucky Cement, and DG Khan Cement, which together added 347 points.

Despite a modest decline, market participation remained strong above the one billion mark as the trading volume slipped 1.5pc to 1.02bn shares, while the traded value rose 8.2pc to Rs50.53n day-on-day.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2025