Benchmark index retreats amid pressure from fertiliser, E&P sectors
\n Islamabad
\nPakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed profit-taking on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index retreating 880 points, or 0.56% day-on-day, to settle at 156,141.
\nIndex-heavy stocks, including Engro Holdings, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Mari Petroleum, Engro Fertilisers, and Fauji Fertiliser Company, weighed on market sentiment, according to KTrade Securities. In contrast, Meezan Bank and Interloop Limited provided some support, with the latter hitting its upper circuit.
\nMarket participation remained robust as volumes reached 1.3 billion shares. Agha Steel Industries led trading with 113 million shares changing hands, up 71 paisa to close at Rs9.77. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom, which traded 85.6 million shares, edging up three paisa to close at Rs1.59, and K-Electric Ltd with 69.8 million shares, losing six paisa to close at Rs5.54.
\nAnalysts said the PSX remains resilient on the back of improving macroeconomic indicators and strong corporate earnings, though short-term consolidation is likely as the market absorbs recent gains. Thursday\u2019s correction came after a series of record-breaking sessions, when the bourse crossed the 157,000-point barrier.
\nOverall, shares of 487 companies were traded during the day. Of these, 225 stocks closed higher, 223 lost ground, and 39 remained pegged at previous levels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Benchmark index retreats amid pressure from fertiliser, E&P sectors Islamabad Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed profit-taking on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index retreating 880 points, or 0.56% day-on-day, to settle at 156,141. Index-heavy stocks, including Engro Holdings, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Mari Petroleum, Engro Fertilisers, and Fauji Fertiliser Company, weighed on market sentiment, according to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466983,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-502348","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n