Stocks End 7-Day Winning Streak on Profit-Taking

KARACHI: After a solid seven-session rally, the stock market hit a pause on Wednesday as investors shifted gears, locking in gains and pushing the KSE-100 index into the red. The day saw a bumpy ride with the index initially surging 1,008 points to an intraday high of 91,872. But a wave of profit-taking soon kicked in, sending the index down by 860 points to a low of 90,003 before closing at 90,286, down by 577 points or 0.64%.

Market analyst Ahsan Mehanti from Arif Habib Corporation pointed to institutional profit-taking in high-performing stocks as a major factor behind the dip. Adding to the pressure were foreign outflows, an uptick in industrial gas tariffs, the rupee’s recent volatility, and uncertainty surrounding Saudi investments worth $2 billion as investors sought more stable policy assurances.

Topline Securities noted that the downturn reflected investors’ profit-taking, capitalizing on recent gains. Market focus was also on the anticipated T-bill auction, with its outcome expected to shed light on interest rate trends, likely impacting short-term market movements.
On the stocks front, Systems Ltd, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd, GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan, Engro Fertiliser, and Allied Bank Ltd made positive contributions, adding a combined 264 points. However, declines in Fauji Fertiliser Company, National Bank of Pakistan, Hub Power, United Bank Ltd, and Habib Bank Ltd collectively shaved off 360 points.

Volume-wise, trading saw a 1.9% boost with 614.5 million shares traded, though the trade value dipped 3% to Rs27.34 billion. Among the most active stocks were Silkbank (68.5 million shares), The Searle Company (26.7 million shares), WorldCall Telecom (22.7 million shares), Fauji Foods (19.4 million shares), and Hum Network (18.9 million shares).