Karachi, December 10, 2024 – The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a reversal on Tuesday as the KSE-100 index fell by 1,074 points, marking the end of a record-breaking nine-session rally.
The benchmark index closed at 108,896 points, retreating from the previous day’s historic peak of 109,970 points.
The nine-day rally, which began on November 27, 2024, had propelled the index by an impressive 15,896 points, positioning the PSX as one of the world’s best-performing markets in terms of USD returns. The surge followed a dramatic single-day drop on November 26, when the index closed at 94,574 points. The dismantling of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protests by the government served as a key catalyst, restoring investor confidence and driving the index to an all-time high on December 9, 2024.
On Tuesday, the KSE-100 exhibited significant volatility. The index climbed to an intraday high of 111,759.58 points, gaining over 1,700 points in early trading hours. However, profit-taking by investors led to a steep decline, with the index touching an intraday low of 107,711.40 points by mid-afternoon.
Early trading saw notable activity in key sectors such as power generation, oil and gas exploration, refineries, fertilizer, automobile assemblers, and cement. However, the market sentiment shifted as investors moved to book profits following an extended period of intense buying.
The recent rally was underpinned by improving macroeconomic indicators, particularly robust inflows of remittances. In November 2024, Pakistan received $2.92 billion in remittances, slightly lower than October’s $3.05 billion, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Investor optimism had also been fueled by expectations of further interest rate cuts following a significant decline in inflation, which fell to 4.9% in November. Analysts noted that easing inflation and improving economic stability were critical factors supporting the rally.
While Tuesday’s decline ended the record-breaking streak, market analysts remain optimistic about the index’s long-term trajectory, citing favorable macroeconomic trends and positive investor sentiment as key drivers of sustained growth in the coming months.