4 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Profit-taking grips bourse, KSE-100 sheds nearly 500 points
Bulls were unable to maintain their momentum at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), as investors engaged in profit-taking during the final hours of trading on Wednesday.
The trading session opened on a positive note, lifting the benchmark KSE-100 Index to an intra-day high of 147,892.25.
However, all intra-day gains were erased amid selling pressure, which pushed the index to an intra-day low of 146,417.80. The KSE-200 index eventually settled at 146,529.30, a decrease of 476.02 points or 0.32%.
The decline was 'mainly driven by profit-taking', Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited (AHL), told Business Recorder.
In a key development, Moody's raised Pakistan's credit rating by one notch to 'Caa1' from 'Caa2,' citing Islamabad's improving external position.
Moody's assigned a stable outlook to Pakistan's rating.
'The recent credit rating upgrade from the global agency aligns with the view we shared with our clients in a publication at the beginning of the fiscal year, as one of nine key themes we identified as relevant for capital markets in FY26,' Amreen Soorani, Head of Research at JS Global, told Business Recorder.
'While the positive shifts in Pakistan's macroeconomic landscape that have led to the upgrade are encouraging, continued fiscal prudence, careful management of the external account, and a focus on sustainable growth will be crucial for further upgrades and sustained investor confidence,' she added.
On Tuesday, the PSX navigated a turbulent session, closing at a record high despite heavy profit-taking by investors keen to lock in recent gains.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index ended just 75.48 points, or 0.05% up, at 147,005.32 points.
Globally, stocks in Asia climbed and the US dollar was subdued on Wednesday, as data showed both resilience in major economies and the need for central banks to remain accommodative.
Wall Street scaled new heights on Tuesday, driven by increasing certainty that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month. Japan's Nikkei broke through the 43,000 level for the first time, and cryptocurrency ether rose to an almost four-year high.
The highly anticipated US inflation readings indicated President Donald Trump's tariff regime had yet to filter down to consumer prices. In Japan, a report showed manufacturers grew more confident about business conditions after a trade agreement with the United States.
The MSCI All Country World Index of shares climbed for a second day to reach 948.54, a new all-time high. Japan's Nikkei stock index rose 1.4%, also setting a new peak for a second-straight session.
