The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) turned negative on Thursday despite gains. Rising oil prices and ongoing worries about inflation hurt investor confidence. At the time, uncertainty surrounding renewed US-Iran diplomatic talks added to the cautious tone in the market.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index dropped 1,332.47 points or 0.78%, closing at 168,636.85. The index moved between a high of 170,688.38 and a low of 168,567.79 during the session.
Oil prices climbed 2% as China stopped exporting oil products, making global fuel supplies even tighter. This came as investors kept an eye on diplomatic discussions aimed at ending the conflict between the US and Iran.
On the side, inflation in Pakistan eased to 10.26% in September, down from 11.1% in August. This drop was mainly due to food prices. Still, inflation is above the State Bank’s target range for the term.
The market started the day on a note with the KSE-100 reaching 170,270.16 at 10:15 a.m., up 300.84 points or 0.18%. That strength faded as the session went on and the index lost ground.
Muhammad Awais Ashraf of AKD Securities assessed that easing inflationary pressures along with an external account position and a reduction in domestic political noise will strengthen investor confidence and will strengthen investor confidence even further.
Any positive development in the US-Iran war would serve as a positive trigger, and the normalisation of trade flows from the GCC would reduce the severity of the ongoing crisis. “We advise investors to remain in banks, Exploration & Production, fertiliser, textile, OMCs, technology, steel and automobile sectors. Within these, E&Ps and OMCs are positioned to benefit from resolution of gas sector debt,” Ashraf wrote.
Cumulatively, trading volume stood at 548.3 million shares down from 591.2 million on Wednesday. In the market, 121 companies advanced, 323 companies declined, and 48 companies remained unchanged. Kohinoor Spinning was the volume leader in trading, with 93.8 million shares rising Rs0.11 to close at Rs5.84
