The market opened on a positive note on Wednesday, briefly lifting the index, but early gains quickly evaporated as investors reduced positions amid a lack of fresh positive triggers. Persistent fluctuations kept the benchmark range-bound throughout the day, with selling pressure building steadily. By midday, the KSE-100 hovered around 166,313.22, down 1,329.05 points or 0.79%.
Selling was visible across key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, and power generation. The index moved between an intra-day high of 168,160.88 and a low of 166,115.17.
By the close of the session, nervous sentiment persisted, and the KSE-100 index settled at 166,145.35, marking a decline of 1,496.93 points or 0.89%.
According to KTrade Securities, the PSX continued to face pressure after its recent strong rally, which had approached but not surpassed the record highs reached in October.
“The KSE-100 index slipped 1,497 points (-0.89%) to close at 166,145,” the brokerage noted. “Trading remained largely range-bound, with pressure from Fauji Fertiliser, Meezan Bank, United Bank, Hub Power and Engro Holdings.” TRG, however, posted gains, along with Oil & Gas Development Company, Pioneer Cement and Faysal Bank.
Market participation remained steady, with All-Share volumes reaching 591 million. Looking ahead, KTrade said overall sentiment may improve, with the upcoming IMF board meeting on December 8 and expectations of a tranche release likely to guide momentum. Regional geopolitical developments may also influence short-term market direction.
Overall trading volume stood at 593 million shares, below Tuesday’s 775.5 million. The value of traded shares totalled Rs44.4 billion. Out of 473 companies traded, 136 closed higher, 291 declined and 46 remained unchanged. WorldCall Telecom led the volumes with 78.7 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.06 to settle at Rs1.86.
