The Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed a bearish trend on Friday due to profit-taking by investors and selling pressure in large stocks, as a result of which the KMI-30 index closed down 0.58 percent.
According to market data, the KMI-30 index closed at 238,952.40 points at the end of trading, while recording a decline of 1,388.17 points compared to the previous session. The market had opened at 240,987.19 points and saw limited gains in the early hours, but selling pressure increased later.
During the trading day, the index touched a high of 241,092.05 points and a low of 238,253.73 points. Experts say that investors are currently adopting a cautious attitude in anticipation of economic uncertainty and policy decisions.
ENGRO played the most negative role in the market, due to which the index was under pressure by 650.53 points. Similarly, shares of FFC, LUCK, OGDC and MEBL were also under significant pressure. According to analysts, the selling wave in the fertilizer and energy sectors dragged down the overall market.
On the other hand, SAZEW performed positively, providing support to the market by 187.30 points. ATRL, PSO, NRL and SYS also played a limited positive role; however, it proved insufficient to stop the overall market downturn.
According to experts, the Pakistan stock market is currently under the influence of several important factors, including interest rates, rupee value, global crude oil prices and budget-related expectations. Investors are especially keeping an eye on the government’s economic policies and IMF negotiations.
According to the data, the performance of the KMI-30 index on a fiscal year-to-date basis was 29.24 percent positive, which shows the strength of the market on a long-term basis. However, the index has shown a negative performance of 3.86% so far in the current calendar year.
Brokers say that despite the uncertainty in the market, there are investment opportunities in some sectors, especially in companies that are giving strong financial results and better profits.
Economists said that if the government comes up with investor-friendly measures in the coming days, then confidence in the market may be restored. According to them, negotiations with international financial institutions and the situation of foreign exchange reserves will also play an important role in determining the direction of the market.
Investors have been advised to make decisions keeping in mind fundamental economic indicators and the financial health of companies instead of being influenced by short-term fluctuations.