Selling returns to bourse, KSE-100 sheds over 2,000 points in early trade

Selling pressure returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as conflict in the region continued to escalate, pushing the benchmark KSE-100 Index down by over 2,000 points during the opening minutes of trading on Wednesday. At 9:25am, the benchmark index was hovering at 155,131.90, a decrease of 2,000.19 points or 1.27%. Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including OGDC, MARI, POL, PPL, HUBCO, HBL, MEBL and NBP, traded in the red. On Tuesday, PSX staged a powerful and confidence-restoring rebound as aggressive value buying in heavyweight sectors helped the PSX recover sharply from the previous session’s historic rout, signalling a decisive shift in market sentiment from panic to opportunity. The benchmark KSE-100 Index climbed 5,159.10 points or 3.39% to close at 157,132.10 points.