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KARACHI: The Pakistani stock market faced selling pressure on Tuesday, with the KSE 100 index closing lower for the second consecutive session, as economic concerns weighed on investor sentiment. The benchmark index ended below the 167,000-point level, finishing at 166,173, down 1,578.66 points or 0.94 per cent.
The session began with a brief rally, with the index rising by 766 points. However, the early optimism quickly faded, and selling pressure intensified. The index dropped sharply to an intraday low of 165,997 points before settling at the final level. The decline was primarily driven by profit-taking from local institutions, which overshadowed the initial gains.
Significant losses were observed in stocks such as Hub Power, Engro Holdings, Lucky Cement, Mari Energies, and United Bank, which collectively contributed 986 points to the loss. In contrast, gains in stocks such as Habib Bank, Engro Fertiliser, Askari Bank, and Allied Bank helped cushion the decline, contributing 380 points to the index.
Market activity also slowed, with total traded volume falling by 0.63pc to 1.26 billion shares. The total value of shares traded dropped by 10.44pc to Rs54.21 billion. Pakistan Telecommunication Company was the volume leader, trading 180.5 million shares.
Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, noted that the market remained volatile throughout the day. He pointed out that the index has now lost 3,814 points or 2.2pc since its peak of 169,988 on Friday.
Investor sentiment was also dampened by reports that the IMF and Pakistani authorities are considering revising the country’s GDP growth forecast to 3.5pc from 4.2pc, due to damage from floods to agriculture, infrastructure, and livestock. This has raised concerns about rising inflation. Despite these pressures, analysts expect the market to remain in a consolidation phase, with the KSE 100 index likely to fluctuate between 165,000 and 170,000 points in the near term.
Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2025
