The selling trend persisted at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday, resulting in the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing over 950 points during the trading session.
At 12:40 PM, the KSE-100 Index stood at 160,309.62 points, reflecting a decline of 972.14 points or 0.6%. Selling pressure was observed in key sectors including Commercial Banks, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies, OMCs (Oil Marketing Companies), Power Generation, and Refineries. HBL, WHY, OGDCL, Mari, Hubco, MEBL, MCB, and National Bank were all trading in the negative zone.
It is worth noting that on Tuesday, the KSE-100 Index had closed at 161,281.77 points, marking a decrease of 1,521.39 points or 0.93%.
Global Market Turmoil
Globally, Asian stocks saw a sharp sell-off on Wednesday, and market volatility reached its highest level since April. This was primarily driven by a heavy sell-off in the technology sector on Wall Street overnight and investors’ cautious attention to soaring valuations.
Selling was particularly intense in the Japanese and South Korean markets during the early trading session, resulting in Tokyo’s stock index plunging by 4.5%, a drop of nearly 7% from its record high achieved on Tuesday.
South Korean shares also saw a decline of up to 6.2%.
The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell by 2.3%, marking the steepest decline since US President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcement in early April.
US E-mini futures also dropped by 0.6%, following a 1.2% decline in the S&P 500 Index overnight.
Shares of SoftBank Group in Japan fell by 10% as one of the world’s largest investors in the tech sector followed the 2% drop in the Nasdaq Composite overnight.
Shares are retreating from record highs as CEOs of major Wall Street firms, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, questioned whether such elevated valuations can be sustained long-term.
