Equities suffer marginal losses on profit-taking
KARACHI: Investor sentiments on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained choppy on Thursday ahead of the long weekend due to the Independence Day holiday, resulting in the benchmark index closing in the red amid late profit-taking. Topline Securities Ltd said the index largely traded in the positive zone during the session, attributable to a decline in crude oil prices. However, sceptical…
On Thursday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a slight decline as investors practiced profit-taking ahead of the Independence Day holiday. The benchmark index closed lower by 0.11%, settling at 180,104.61, after initially trading in the positive zone. The decline was primarily due to the selling activity in the latter hours of trade, as top contributors Fauji Fertiliser, Service Industries, Habib Bank, and Pakistan Petroleum added 236 points.
Conversely, Engro Holdings, Systems Ltd, Meezan Bank, Habib Metropolitan Bank, and Pakistan Oilfield contributed to the losses, accounting for 286 points. Market participant Ali Najib noted that the session was negative, with early gains wiped out as traders settled positions before the long weekend. In corporate news, Pakistan Refinery Ltd reported a net profit of Rs16.1bn for the fiscal year 2026, with an earnings per share of Rs25.05, but no cash dividends were announced.
On the macro front, Pakistan's fiscal year 2026 budget deficit narrowed to Rs3,313bn, the lowest since FY18, as FBR revenue rose 11% year-on-year to Rs13,010bn, and the primary surplus remained stable at Rs3,364bn for the third consecutive year. Improved investor participation was evident, with trading volume increasing 19.76% to 891 million shares and total turnover up 13.97% to Rs36.6bn.
Cnergyico PK led the volume chart with 247m shares traded. Analysts anticipate the market to remain range-bound, with investors consolidating recent gains and remaining cautious due to profit-taking, global developments, and geopolitical factors.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
