KSE-100 slips 0.27% to 165,966 as weak sentiment persists
The Pakistan Stock Exchange closed lower on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding 453.63 points, or 0.27%, to settle at 165,966.09, as persistent selling across key sectors kept investors cautious.
The session opened weak, with the index down 298.81 points, or 0.18%, at 166,120.90 by 9:38am. It recovered to an intraday high of 166,698.46 before falling to a low of 165,918.35 and finishing in negative territory. Selling was concentrated in automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies and oil marketing companies.
KTrade Securities said the decline came amid cautious investor sentiment and subdued volume of 109 million shares. Trading activity centred on Pakistan Refinery, Cnergyico PK, TPL Trakker, Worldcall Telecom and Saif Power, while selective buying in MCB Bank, Attock Refinery, Pakistan Oilfield, TRG Pakistan and Bank Al Falah offered partial support. The brokerage said weakness was broad-based, led by commercial banks, cements, investment banks and technology stocks, with UBL, Systems, Fauji Fertiliser and Hub Power among the notable decliners.
KTrade noted that Brent crude remained above $100 per barrel, contributing to macroeconomic uncertainty. It expected the market to stay cautious and range-bound next week, with direction dependent on global oil prices, geopolitical developments and corporate earnings, and said a sustained recovery in trading volumes was needed to support broader participation.
Overall trading volume fell to 370.9 million shares from 396.9 million on Friday, with traded value at Rs19.56 billion. Of 499 companies traded in the ready market, 163 closed higher, 302 fell and 34 were unchanged. Pak Refinery led on volume with 53 million shares, gaining Rs1.86 to close at Rs108.81.
