KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile start to trading on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index swinging between gains and losses within minutes as investors locked in profits following Monday’s powerful rally.
The market opened on a positive note, extending the momentum from the previous session when the KSE-100 Index had surged more than 4% to close at 178,262.33 points, driven by the State Bank of Pakistan’s decision to keep the policy rate unchanged at 11.5%, easing oil prices and renewed institutional buying.
During the opening minutes on Tuesday, the benchmark index climbed 424.36 points (0.24%) to 178,686.69, with 241 stocks advancing against 64 decliners.
More than 36.99 million shares changed hands in over 13,100 trades, generating a turnover of Rs1.56 billion.
However, the initial optimism quickly faded as investors moved to book profits after Monday’s sharp gains. Within five minutes, selling pressure intensified, dragging the KSE-100 Index down by 347.95 points (0.20%) to 177,914.38.
Market breadth also weakened, with advancing stocks falling to 178, while 158 issues declined, indicating that profit-taking had spread across several sectors.
The selling pressure proved short-lived.
Fresh buying soon emerged in selected heavyweight stocks, enabling the benchmark to regain lost ground. By 9:45am, the KSE-100 Index had returned to positive territory, trading 355.92 points (0.20%) higher at 178,618.25.
Market participation also improved, with traded volume rising to 115.25 million shares, valued at Rs4.51 billion through 41,805 transactions. Advancing stocks increased to 228, comfortably outnumbering 137 decliners.
The broader market mirrored the benchmark’s movements. The All Share Index, KSE-30, KMI-30, and BKTI all recovered from brief losses to post modest gains, reflecting selective buying after the early bout of selling.
Market analysts said Tuesday’s sharp fluctuations were largely expected after Monday’s exceptional rally, with short-term investors opting to realize profits while longer-term participants continued accumulating fundamentally strong stocks.
They noted that the market’s ability to recover quickly from early losses suggested underlying investor confidence remained intact, although volatility is likely to persist in the near term as participants assess corporate earnings, macroeconomic indicators and policy developments.
Investors will now watch whether institutional buying continues throughout the session, which could help the benchmark sustain levels above the 178,000-point mark after one of the strongest single-day recoveries in recent weeks.
