KSE-100 ended the week with a slight decline M Haris

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a trading session ending with minimal movement, as the benchmark KSE-100 index settled down by 70 points. Both trading volume and the total value of shares traded decreased on Friday.

Throughout the day, the index showed predominantly positive movement, reaching an intra-day high of 80,627.49, marking an increase of 344 points. However, towards the end of the session, profit-taking activities led to a decline, settling the index at 80,212.79, down by 70.01 points or 0.09%.

The trading session exhibited a mixed trend, with gains seen in automobile assemblers, commercial banks, and refineries, while oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, fertilizers, and cement sectors ended in negative territory. Banking stocks such as HBL and NBP, which carry significant weight in the index, closed in positive territory.

Despite the minor setback on Friday, the market had been on a winning streak in anticipation of finalizing a new bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Globally, Asian markets reached new highs on Friday, buoyed by expectations of US interest rate cuts in September. The sentiment was positive, with Japan’s Nikkei and Taiwan’s benchmark indices hitting record levels. Samsung’s strong second-quarter profit estimate contributed to the upbeat mood in South Korea’s KOSPI index.

In currency markets, the Pakistani rupee showed marginal strength against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday.

In notable news, Farrukh H Khan resigned from his role as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PSX to pursue other opportunities.

Trading statistics for the day showed a decline in both volume and value: the all-share index volume decreased from 496.78 million to 448.98 million shares, while the value of shares traded fell from Rs19.3 billion to Rs18.9 billion.

Among the most actively traded stocks were B.O.Punjab with 34.4 million shares, National BankXD with 28.5 million shares, and PIA Holding Company with 25.1 million shares. A total of 432 companies’ shares were traded, with 152 recording gains, 229 recording losses, and 51 remaining unchanged.