Profit-taking and consolidation of gains continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the benchmark KSE-100 Index fell over 500 points during trading on Tuesday.
At around 11:50 am, the benchmark index had retreated to 47,843.49, a decline of 542.76 points or 1.12%.
On Monday, the KSE-100 Index had closed lower by nearly 200 points, settling at 48,386.25, as investors weighed an upcoming new refinery policy and growing fears of a delay in Pakistan’s general elections.
On Tuesday, across-the-board selling was witnessed with index-heavy sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, oil and gas manufacturing companies and OMCs trading in the red.
Experts said the market players are witnessing profit-taking after a massive rally that started with the staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“The investors have adopted a cautious approach as they seek stability at the political front,” Sana Tawfik, an analyst at Arif Habib Limited, told Business Recorder.
Sectorally speaking, the E&P sector remained under stress.
“The market expected that the issue of circular debt in the energy sector would be addressed by the government, which was also an International Monetary Fund (IMF) condition. However, it seems unlikely now as the government tenure is reported to end tomorrow,” said Tawfik.
