KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a highly volatile opening on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index swinging sharply between losses and gains before slipping back into negative territory within minutes, reflecting cautious investor sentiment after the market’s recent record-setting rally.
The benchmark started the session on a weak note, falling 474.99 points (0.27%) to 175,658.57 by 9:35am.
However, bargain hunting quickly emerged, helping the index erase its losses and edge into positive territory at 176,147.63, up 14.07 points (0.01%), by 9:40am.
The recovery proved short-lived. By 9:45am, fresh selling pressure resurfaced, dragging the KSE-100 Index back into the red at 176,103.97 points, down 29.59 points (0.02%), underscoring the market’s volatile start to the trading day.
The broader market reflected the same choppy trend.
Advancing stocks increased from 99 at 9:35am to 160 at 9:40am before rising further to 172 by 9:45am.
Meanwhile, declining issues narrowed from 166 to 158, but edged up again to 161, while unchanged stocks fell from 299 to 231, indicating active repositioning by investors.
Trading activity accelerated despite the fluctuations.
Total traded volume more than doubled from 37.80 million shares at 9:35am to 87.96 million shares by 9:45am. The value of traded shares surged from Rs552.8 million to Rs1.76 billion, while the number of executed trades climbed from 8,440 to 23,902.
Other indices also mirrored the mixed sentiment.
By 9:45am, the All Share Index managed to remain marginally positive, adding 1.86 points, while the KSE-30 Index slipped 42.71 points (0.08%), the KMI-30 Index fell 121.60 points (0.05%), and the BKTI Index was down 19.39 points (0.04%).
The volatile opening follows Tuesday’s session, when the benchmark index ended with a gain of more than 200 points after surrendering a large portion of its intraday gains to profit-taking.
Wednesday’s price action suggests investors remain divided between locking in profits after the market’s recent rally and accumulating fundamentally strong stocks on dips.
The cautious mood also comes as petrol pump owners across Pakistan have begun a nationwide strike over a dispute with the government regarding the petroleum dealers’ profit margin and pricing mechanism.
Although the direct impact on listed companies remains uncertain, the industrial action has added another layer of uncertainty to an already cautious market environment.
