Bearish Trend Dominates Pakistan Stock Exchange

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a downturn as trading commenced on Wednesday, with the KSE-100 Index shedding over 400 points in the initial hours.

Index Performance

As of 9:45 am, the benchmark index stood at 121,561.23, reflecting a decrease of 409.81 points, which translates to a 0.34% decline.

Sector Performance

Selling activity was evident across several key sectors, including:

  • Automobile Assemblers
  • Cement
  • Commercial Banks
  • Oil and Gas Exploration Companies
  • OMCs
  • Power Generation
  • Refinery

Major stocks such as HUBCO, PSO, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, MCB, MEBL, and NBP all experienced losses.

Previous Day’s Performance

The PSX had concluded Tuesday’s session on a negative note. The KSE-100 Index fell by 254.32 points, a 0.21% decrease, ultimately closing at 121,971.04 points.

Global Market Influences

Globally, increasing tensions in the Middle East remained a primary concern for markets on Wednesday. This situation drove oil prices upward and led investors to seek safer investments such as US Treasuries and the dollar, while reducing their stock holdings.

Growing anxiety among investors stemmed from the potential for greater US military intervention, particularly as the conflict between Israel and Iran continued. Concerns were heightened by calls for Iran’s unconditional surrender.

Oil Price Surge

Oil prices continued their upward trend on Wednesday. Brent crude futures increased by 0.33% to reach $76.70 per barrel, while US crude experienced a 0.45% rise, reaching $75.18 a barrel. Both had seen increases of over 4% in the previous trading session.

Broader Market Trends

The risk-off sentiment across various markets continued to strengthen.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan decreased by 0.26%, mirroring a 0.4% decline in EUROSTOXX 50 futures.

US stock futures showed minimal change after the overnight cash session on Wall Street concluded with losses.

Currency Market Update

In currency markets, the dollar strengthened to a one-week high of 145.445 yen and maintained most of its gains against other currencies.

The euro struggled to rebound from its 0.7% drop on Tuesday and was last trading at $1.1487.

Intra-day Update

This information reflects an update during the trading day.