KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened Tuesday’s trading session on a weaker note, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index falling more than 400 points as selling pressure returned a day after the market posted a modest recovery.
At around 9:35am, the KSE-100 Index was down 407.15 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 180,095.29 points, according to the PSX market summary.
The decline came after the benchmark gained 397.83 points, or 0.22pc, in Monday’s session to close at 180,502.44 points, as investor sentiment improved following the previous week’s losses.
Tuesday’s opening weakness was broad-based. Of the 563 listed companies reflected in the market summary, 161 declined against 140 advancing, while 262 remained unchanged.
Trading activity was relatively brisk in the opening minutes, with 33.69 million shares changing hands through 13,230 trades, while the traded value stood at approximately Rs1.44 billion.
Other major indices also opened in negative territory.
The All-Share Index fell 191.50 points, or 0.18pc, to 109,015.63, while the KSE-30 Index declined 278.02 points, or 0.52pc, to 53,483.16.
The KMI-30 Index dropped 702.63 points, or 0.28pc, to 253,915.38, while the BKTI fell 442.60 points, or 0.86pc, to 51,335.30.
Market remains volatile after last week’s losses
The latest decline comes after a volatile period for the stock market. During the four-session week ended Aug 13, the KSE-100 shed 1,325 points, closing at 180,104.61 points. The index moved within a 2,568-point range, touching a weekly high of 182,347 and a low of 179,778.
Despite the shorter trading week due to the Aug 14 Independence Day holiday, investors traded 3.41 billion shares worth Rs152 billion, while market capitalisation declined by Rs107bn to Rs20.13 trillion.
Monday’s recovery had briefly lifted the benchmark above the previous week’s close, but Tuesday’s early decline suggests that the market remains sensitive to profit-taking and broader investor sentiment.
The benchmark will now be watched closely to see whether the early selling pressure intensifies or buyers return to defend the 180,000-point level.
