PSX remains under pressure as shares lose nearly 1,500 points

Bears maintained their hold on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday as shares lost nearly 1,500 points. The benchmark KSE-100 index declined by 1,489.96 points, or 1.31 per cent, to close at 112,030.36 points from the previous close of 113,520.32. Yousuf M. Farooq, director research at Chase Securities, said, “The market opened under pressure today following a news report yesterday in which the petroleum minister stated that Rs82 billion from the profits of state-owned companies would be used to shield consumers from rising gas costs.” He said the remarks “raised concerns among market participants that the government may revert to using state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to appease the public, echoing past practices”.