KSE-100 settles 481.36 points lower as US sends more troops to Middle East

The KSE-100 Index closed at 168,155.49 on Friday, down 481.36 points or 0.29%, after a volatile session at the Pakistan Stock Exchange. Investor sentiment was described as cautious amid reports that the US was sending more troops and carriers to the Middle East. Early selling dragged the benchmark to an intra-day low of 167,685.42, before it recovered to a high of 168,854.46 in the second half of trading. The recovery did not hold, and renewed selling towards the close pulled the index back towards 168,000.

In its post-market report, brokerage house Topline Securities said investor participation remained subdued amid a lack of fresh triggers, elevated crude oil prices and the ongoing stalemate in US-Iran relations. The brokerage identified SYS, MEBL, LUCK, NBP and HBL as the largest negative contributors to the index, saying they cumulatively weighed it down by 269 points.

The decline followed a sharply weaker session on Thursday, when profit-taking and broad-based selling across banks, exploration and production companies, cement and oil marketing companies erased early gains above the 170,000-point level. The KSE-100 Index shed 1,332.47 points, or 0.78%, to close at 168,636.85.

Equities elsewhere in Asia also fell on Friday, as investors weighed sharp moves in bond and currency markets ahead of key US jobs data and a widening military buildup in the Gulf kept oil prices elevated. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.5% and was on track for a weekly decline of 1.7%, while Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.7% but remained set for a weekly gain of 3.1%. Mainland Chinese markets are closed for a public holiday through Wednesday of next week. Nasdaq futures rose 0.3% and S&P 500 futures inched up 0.1%. Attention was on US nonfarm payrolls due later on Friday, with forecasts centred on a rise of 90,000 jobs and the employment rate expected to hold steady at 4.1%.

On the currency market, the Pakistani rupee extended marginal gains against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market to close at 277.07, a gain of Re0.03. Volume on the all-share index decreased to 493.96 million shares from 548.38 million at the previous close, while the value of shares rose to Rs17.49 billion from Rs17.05 billion. F. Nat. Equities led on volume with 42.51 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 40.08 million and D.S. Ind. Ltd. with 29.51 million. Shares of 494 companies were traded, of which 128 advanced, 321 declined and 45 were unchanged.