KSE-100 Index Largely Flat But Closes at All-Time High

The benchmark KSE-100 Index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile trading session but closed at a new all-time high on Thursday.  The Index fluctuated hit an intraday high of 1,359 points and a low of 150 points before settling at 117,119 points, a gain of 111.6 points or 0.10 percent. The market had begun the new year with an increase of over 1,800 points on Wednesday.  Brokerage house Topline Securities said that investors appeared to capitalize on the heightened market activity, opting to book profits after recent gains. This led to mixed sentiment across sectors, with select stocks facing selling pressure while others managed to sustain upward momentum.  Key contributors to the upward trajectory included EFERT, ENGRO, MTL, DAWH, and HBL, collectively adding 779 points. On the other hand, substantial declines in OGDC, PPL, MARI, PSO, and HUBC weighed heavily on the market, accounting for a combined loss of 485 points, it added.  A total of 1,037,862,969 shares were traded during the day as compared to 931,284,453 shares the previous trading day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs 46.57 billion against Rs. 42.62 billion on the last trading day.   463 companies transacted their shares in the stock market today with 192 recording gains and 225 sustaining losses, whereas the share price of 46 companies remained unchanged.  A positive indicator for the market was yesterday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading which came in at 4.1 percent in December 2024, marking the lowest level since April 2018. However, a concerning figure released yesterday was the trade deficit which widened by 35 percent year-on-year (YoY) in December 2024 to $2.444 billion primarily due to imports hitting a 27-month high.