Profit-taking erased most of the early gains as geopolitical tensions and rising oil prices kept investors cautious, while Pakistan’s $3 billion Eurobond raised market confidence.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a highly volatile trading session on Thursday, with the KSE-100 Index initially gaining strongly before surrendering most of its intraday advance amid late-session profit-taking.
The benchmark index opened on a positive note and climbed to an intraday high of 1,019 points. However, selling pressure emerged during the latter part of the session, pushing the index to an intraday low of 117 points from the previous close.
The KSE-100 ultimately settled at 174,929 points, recording a gain of 153 points or 0.09%.
Market sentiment remained cautious amid continued geopolitical tensions and their impact on global energy markets. Rising international oil prices remain a key concern for investors, particularly because higher crude prices could increase pressure on Pakistan’s external account, inflation and broader macroeconomic stability.
Meanwhile, investor confidence received some support after Pakistan successfully raised $3 billion through a dual-tranche Eurobond transaction. The issuance marked Pakistan’s largest-ever international bond transaction in a single deal.
The Eurobond attracted orders worth nearly $6 billion, almost twice the amount offered, highlighting strong demand from a diversified group of international institutional investors.
Despite the overall positive close, several heavyweight stocks weighed on the index. BAHL, UBL, PPL, SRVI and ATRL were among the major negative contributors, collectively dragging the KSE-100 down by approximately 196 points.
On the other hand, ENGROH, LUCK and NBP provided support, adding around 167 points collectively and limiting the benchmark’s losses during periods of selling pressure.
Trading activity remained relatively subdued compared with recent sessions. Total market volume stood at approximately 627 million shares, while the traded value reached around PKR 25.18 billion.
TISL emerged as the volume leader, with nearly 95 million shares changing hands during the session.
The market is likely to remain sensitive to developments in global oil prices and geopolitical conditions, while Pakistan’s successful Eurobond issuance could provide some support to investor sentiment in the near term.