KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) faced another volatile session on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE 100 index closing marginally lower as investors opted to offload positions amid mixed economic indicators. The KSE-100 index settled at 170,313.86 points, down by 133.44 points or 0.08 per cent, following a day of sharp price swings.

The country’s current account posted a modest surplus of $100 million in November, a significant drop from the $709m surplus recorded in the same month last year. In contrast to October’s $291 million deficit, this figure highlights a mixed economic recovery. However, the cumulative current account deficit for the first five months of FY26 stands at $812m, a reversal from a surplus of $503m during the same period last year.

The net foreign direct investment (FDI) also took a hit, plunging by 23pc year-on-year to $180m in November. For the first five months of FY26, it declined by a quarter, reaching $927m compared to $1.242bn in the same period of FY25.

Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, described the session as one of consolidation. The index showed both positive and negative movements during the day, with an intraday high of 171,393 points, up 945 points, and a low of 169,230 points, down 1,217 points. This wide swing underscored the prevailing volatility in the market.

Market volume dropped by 9.18pc to 1.06 billion shares, and traded value decreased by 3.13pc to Rs51.7bn. Bank of Punjab led the volume chart with 90.6 million shares traded.

Topline Securities noted that despite mixed investor sentiment, some banking and cement stocks showed strength. United Bank Ltd, National Bank of Pakistan, and Pioneer Cement added 771 points to the index, while declines in Lucky Cement, Oil and Gas Development Company, and Engro Holdings subtracted 290 points. Analysts predict that the market is likely to consolidate around the 170,000-point mark in the coming sessions. A weekly close above this level will be pivotal for sustaining any potential upward momentum and reinforcing the broader bullish trend.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2025