By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan stock exchange faced a downturn on Friday as the index fell by 1.07% with the index reaching 112,963.64 points during intra day trading briefly breaching the 115,000 point barrier for the first-time.
Stock market down by 1,216.86 points from the previous session.
The market experienced fluctuations throughout the day, with the index initially gaining around 1,000 points to reach a high of 115,172.44 points and later dipped to reach a low of 112,946.48 points.
Trading volume reached over 260 million shares, with a total value of approximately 23.34 billion ru-pees. The market’s previous close stood at 114,180.50 points.
Earlier yesterday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) hit a record high on Thursday, with the KSE-100 index rising 3.04%, or 3,370.29 points, to close at 114,180.51.
This surge was driven by optimism over a potential policy easing by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), following a 100-basis point reduction in government bond yields.
Easing political tensions and positive macroeconomic indicators, such as rising global oil prices, a 15% increase in petroleum sales, and growth in car and cement sales, further boosted investor sentiment.
Fertiliser, exploration, and technology stocks led the rally, with Fauji Fertiliser, Mari Petroleum, and Pakistan Petroleum showing significant gains. However, stocks like Meezan Bank and Cherat Cement saw losses.
Trading volumes surged to 1.47 billion shares, with a total value of Rs 67.3 billion. Despite the gains, foreign investors sold shares worth Rs 1.18 billion.
Analysts remain optimistic, with the market up 185% over the past 18 months, expecting further growth due to improving economic conditions and investor confidence.
