Upheaval in political corners weighs down on PSX

KARACHI: On Wednesday (yesterday), the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) crossed the 96,000 points mark early in the day breifly, touching the morning’s highest at 96,711.33 points around 11 AM. The index had climbed nearly 900 points, when the political noise kicked in the profit-taking, causing most of the morning’s gains to reverse by the noon.

By the end of the trading day the index had lost 310 points from opening stage of 95,856.66 points, to close at 95,546.45 points. The decline in the benchmark KSE-100 index set in shortly after the government and opposition parties traded barbs over the protest announced by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for Sunday.

The market had been growing for several sessions, achieving historic highs, with the overall improvement in the country’s macroeconomic indicators. However, with the political instability fears knocking once again, the investor confidence also plummeted and profit-taking kicked in.

Despite the overall decline in the market, analysts said that key sectors including energy, technology and banking continued with a robust performance, showing that the market is likely to sustain growth despite the security risks raised by the political upheaval.

Also read: PSX jumps, then falters as profit-taking kicks in