KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) faltered on Wednesday as equityinvestors took profits at elevated levels, pushing the benchmark index to post marginal losses after flirting with the key 180,000 milestone intraday.
Topline Securities said the PSX had a rangebound session, consolidating after Tuesday’s sharp rally.
The index briefly crossed the historic 180,000 mark during intraday trade, reaching a peak of 180,769 points, a gain of 1,434 points, before settling slightly lower at 179,083.80, down 251.44 points, or 0.14 per cent, due to late-session profit-taking.
Market sentiment remained broadly steady as investors weighed high domestic liquidity against fresh concerns over international oil supply and geopolitical developmentsin the Middle East.
Midday buying momentum was driven by targeted sectors, particularly oil marketing companies and refineries.
Major activity was seen across cement and technology stocks, while keycommercial banking and E&P stocks faced consolidation pressures after Tuesday’s massive rally.
Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said the market opened higher, extending the previous session’s bull-ish momentum and reaching an intraday high of 180,769, a level last seen on Aug 18.
However, the upward momentum proved unsustainable as profit-taking emerged, and the index subsequently retreatedbefore staging a partial recovery, with selling pressure intensifying towards the close.
On the sectoral front, cement stocks extended their gains amid optimism surrounding the Punjab cement royalty case, withthe Federal Constitutional Court expected to announce its verdict next week.
On the corporate front, Thatta Cement informed the PSX that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Fauji Foundation to restructure Pakistan Services Ltd.
Pakistan State Oil, Pakistan Services Ltd, Engro Fertiliser, Faysal Bank and Systems Ltd emerged as the top five positive contributors, collectively adding approximately 290 points.
Conversely, United Bank, Meezan Bank, Lucky Cement, National Bank, and Fauji Cement Company Ltd collectively eroded 428 points from the benchmark, reflecting profit-taking among key heavyweights.
Investor participation improved sharply as trading volume surged 28.35 per cent to 1.24 billion shares and total traded value rose 17.47pc to Rs41.8bn.
WorldCall Telecom led the volume chart with 231 million shares.