PSX Loses 1,400 Points As Market Witnesses Heavy Selling Pressure

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index witnessed bearish trend on Tuesday, losing 1,415 points, a negative change of 1.02 percent, closing at 137,965 points against 139,380 points last trading day. In a note, brokerage firm Topline Securities highlighted that bulls opened today’s trading session on a strong footing, lifting the benchmark index to an impressive intraday high of 950 points. However, the optimism was short-lived as heavy selling pressure took over, allowing the bears to regain dominance. Topline said that the sentiment turned negative largely due to speculation surrounding Engro Fertilizers (EFERT), with investors bracing for lower-than-expected earnings and dividend. The much-anticipated result, initially scheduled for release today, has now been deferred to tomorrow morning, adding a layer of uncertainty and fueling the selloff. Top decliners, including ENGROH, EFERT, UBL, HBL, and HUBC, collectively dragged the index down by 833 points. In contrast, FFC, GHGL, and MEBL emerged as key positive contributors, collectively adding 190 points to the benchmark, the firm said. A total of 606,334,880 shares were traded during the day as compared to 589,306,106 shares the previous trading day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs. 32.685 billion against Rs. 34.562 billion on the last trading day. As many as 484 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 108 of them recorded gains and 350 sustained losses, whereas the share price of 26 companies remained unchanged.