Border tensions spark sell-off at PSX
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The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday nosedived over 2,200 points as escalating border tensions between Pakistan and India sparked investor anxiety. A heated war of words and airspace restrictions heightened fears of regional instability.
The unfolding situation triggered a broad-based sell-off as market participants rushed to reduce exposure in a volatile environment. The KSE-100 index plunged to the intra-day low of 114,661 soon after the commencement of trading, but it recovered quickly and rose to the intra-day high of 116,568. It started losing ground again and closed with a sharp loss of 2,206 points.
Pressure from the futures rollover week and caution ahead of major corporate earnings announcements also pushed the market down. Heavyweights such as power, oil and bank stocks led the slump. Despite the sell-off, some buying interest was seen in oil and automobile stocks.
According to Arif Habib Corp MD Ahsan Mehanti, stocks fell across the board as investors feared an escalation in tensions following India's action post-attacks in occupied Kashmir. Additionally, a weak rupee and concerns over trade ties triggered a bearish close at the PSX, he said.
At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a sharp fall of 2,206.33 points, or 1.88%, and settled at 115,019.82.
Topline Securities wrote in its commentary that sentiment soured at the bourse as the KSE-100 index extended its previous day's losses. Weighed down by escalating regional tensions between India and Pakistan and the conclusion of futures rollover week, the market adopted a risk-off tone.
The benchmark index touched the intra-day low of 2,564 points before closing down by 2,206 points. Negative contribution mainly came from Hub Power, Engro, Mari Petroleum, Bank Alfalah and UBL, it said.
Despite the widespread bearish activity, Pakistan State Oil led trading with a value of Rs2.36 billion. Besides, Pakistan Tobacco reported Q1 earnings per share (EPS) of Rs24.53, Topline added.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in its review, wrote that the "Tariff Gap" was replaced by the "Indus Waters Treaty Gap," marking two bearish gap-down openings in April. "These can be contrasted with the bullish International Monetary Fund (IMF)-driven gaps seen in 2023."
Market breadth remained weak as only eight stocks closed higher while 89 declined. The largest negative contribution came from Hub Power (-2.91%), Bank Alfalah (-3.54%) and Mari Petroleum (-2.38%). On the positive side, Pakgen Power (+9.73%), Pakistan Tobacco (+1.69%) and Unilever Pakistan Foods (+1.96%) defied the downtrend, it said.
Fauji Cement reported 9MFY25 EPS of Rs3.84, representing a 34% year-on-year (YoY) increase, but results came in below market expectations. Faysal Bank announced 1QCY25 EPS of Rs3.60, down 18% YoY, which was in line with estimates.
KTrade Securities said in its market wrap that the ongoing border tensions between Pakistan and India dented market sentiment, leading to a sell-off across the board. Pakistan has responded to Indian aggression with countermeasures, including closing the airspace and the Wagah border and rejecting the suspension of Indus Waters Treaty.
Banking, oil and gas, fertiliser and cement sectors were the top contributors to the index's decline, with Engro, Hub Power, Bank Alfalah, Mari Petroleum, Fauji Fertiliser, MCB Bank and UBL leading the charge, KTrade observed.
JS Global analyst Muhammad Hasan Ather said the KSE-100 index dropped 1.9% amid rising geopolitical tensions and fears over the futures rollover week and earnings season. Despite a brief midday recovery, the index witnessed heightened selling pressure that forced investors to remain cautious.
Overall trading volumes decreased to 506.7 million shares as compared with Wednesday's tally of 605.2 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs24.5 billion. Shares of 456 companies were traded. Of these, 83 stocks closed higher, 339 fell and 34 remained unchanged.
Power Cement led the volume chart with 37.3 million shares, rising Rs0.25 to close at Rs14.45. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 31.2 million shares, falling Rs0.02 to close at Rs1.31 and Sui Southern Gas Company with 23.4 million shares, falling Rs0.06 to close at Rs41.05. During the day, foreign investors bought shares worth Rs638 million, the National Clearing Company reported.
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