The benchmark surged nearly 1,000 points in early trading before profit-taking reversed the rally and pushed the index into negative territory.
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile trading session on Monday as strong early buying lifted the benchmark KSE-100 Index by nearly 1,000 points, before late-session profit-taking erased most of the gains.
Analysts at Topline Securities Limited said the KSE-100 Index climbed to an intraday high of 956 points following strong buying interest at the start of the session. However, the upward momentum failed to hold as investors began booking profits during the latter part of trading.
The selling pressure pushed the index sharply lower, with the benchmark touching an intraday low of 430 points.
The KSE-100 ultimately closed at 176,966 points, down approximately 200 points, or 0.11%, from the previous session.
OGDC, PPL among major gainers
Several heavyweight stocks supported the market during the session.
OGDC, PPL, MLCF, DGKC and FCCL emerged as the major gainers, collectively adding around 391 points to the KSE-100 Index.
However, losses in key stocks offset much of the positive contribution.
ENGROH, MEBL, SRVI and SYS were among the major laggards, collectively weighing on the index by approximately 388 points.
The contrasting performance of heavyweight stocks contributed to the market’s sharp reversal from its intraday high.
Trading activity remains strong
Market participation remained robust, with 933 million shares changing hands during the session.
The total traded value stood at approximately Rs44.10 billion, reflecting continued investor activity despite the late-session decline.
CNERGY remained the volume leader, with around 266 million shares traded.
The session reflected a tug-of-war between renewed buying interest and profit-taking. While investors initially pushed the benchmark sharply higher, late-session selling pressure ultimately wiped out most of the early gains.
The market’s closing performance indicated continued investor interest but also highlighted the willingness of participants to lock in profits after recent gains.