The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed selling pressure on Wednesday amid rollover week activity, leading to a sharp decline in early trading. Within minutes of the market opening, the benchmark KSE-100 Index fell by around 500 points.
At 9:45 AM, the index was down 491.01 points, or 0.31%, settling at 159,610.01 points. Heavy selling was observed across key sectors, including automobile assemblers, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies (OMCs), power producers, and refineries. Major stocks such as HUBCO, ARL, SSGC, SNGPL, Mari Petroleum, and PPL remained under pressure.
It is worth noting that the market had also experienced heavy profit-taking on Tuesday, when the KSE-100 Index dropped by 2,062.78 points (1.27%), closing at 160,101.03 points.
Meanwhile, in the global markets, Asian shares drew support from Wall Street’s strong performance, driven by renewed optimism around artificial intelligence (AI). Expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut this week boosted bond markets, while the U.S. dollar weakened as investors speculated that Wednesday’s anticipated Federal Reserve rate cut might not be the last of the year.
On Wall Street, the markets closed at record highs, led by NVIDIA and Microsoft. NVIDIA announced $500 billion in bookings for its AI chips and unveiled plans to build seven supercomputers for the U.S. Department of Energy. Meanwhile, Microsoft signed a deal to convert OpenAI into a public benefit corporation, acquiring a 27% stake.
These positive developments also lifted Asian stocks. The MSCI Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) index gained 0.16%, while Japan’s Nikkei Index surged over 1%, hitting another record high. South Korea’s KOSPI Index also climbed to record levels, buoyed by strong earnings and upbeat forecasts from SK Hynix, a major supplier to NVIDIA.
Despite the global optimism, Pakistan’s stock market remained under pressure as investors opted for profit-taking and cautious positioning ahead of month-end settlements and rollover week adjustments.
