Pakistan Stock Exchange Suffers Sharp Drop After Volatile Session
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a turbulent trading session on Wednesday, marked by intense volatility as the benchmark KSE-100 Index swung between sharp gains and steep declines before closing significantly lower.
The market opened on a strong note, with the benchmark climbing 506.75 points to reach 160,607.77 within the first hour of trading. However, early optimism quickly evaporated as selling pressure intensified, pulling the index down by 695.02 points to 159,406 within just 20 minutes.
Despite a brief mid-morning rebound that saw the index touch an intraday high of 160,690.12 points, renewed profit-taking in the afternoon session erased earlier gains. By 2:50 PM, the index had plunged by 1,157.02 points to 158,944, and as of 3:19 PM, it was down 1,763.02 points, or 1.10%, settling at 158,338.
Trading volumes stood at 358.7 million shares, reflecting heightened investor activity amid uncertainty. Even with today’s sharp fall, the PSX remains up 74.26% year-on-year and 37.53% year-to-date, underscoring the market’s strong long-term momentum.
During the session, the KSE-100 Index fluctuated between 158,306.84 and 160,690.12 points. Over the past 52 weeks, the index has traded in a wide range between 88,852.68 and 169,988.62 points.
Market Movers
Among the most traded stocks:
- K-Electric Ltd (KEL) gained 3.61% to close at Rs5.46.
- Hascol Petroleum Ltd rose 1.90% to Rs15.58.
- In contrast, PAEL dropped 6.67% to Rs47.99, while FCSC slumped 11.11% to Rs8.00.
Top Advancers
The leading gainers included:
- BFMOD (+10.02%)
- CWSM (+10.02%)
- SARC, SSOM, and ASHT (all up around 10%)
Top Decliners
The major losers of the day were:
- FCSC (-11.11%)
- TCORPCPS, GGGL, and CHBL (each down nearly 10%)
Market analysts attributed the day’s sharp swings to investor caution and profit-taking, following weeks of sustained rallies. Despite short-term volatility, sentiment remains cautiously optimistic as traders continue to balance short-term corrections against strong yearly performance metrics.
