PSX slumps over 6,600 points amid massive selling pressure

KARACHI (Dunya News/APP) – Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) recorded a massive decline on Thursday amid selling pressure ahead of a visit of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) team to review implementation of the loan programme and discuss upcoming budget.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index shed 6,682.81 points, a negative change of 3.74 percent, to close at 172,170.29 points compared to 178,853.10 points on the previous trading day, according to PSX data.

During the session, the ready market recorded a trading volume of 542.979 million shares with a traded value of Rs 27.363 billion, against 697.682 million shares valuing Rs 49.992 billion in the previous session. Market capitalization decreased to Rs 19.514 trillion from Rs 20.227 trillion a day earlier.

Out of 483 active companies in the ready market, 32 advanced, 384 declined, and 67 remained unchanged.WorldCall Telecom topped the volume chart with 84.183 million shares, followed by K-Electric Limited with 62.013 million shares and Trust Sec.& Bro (R ) with 45.71million shares.

The top gainers included Dawood Lawrencepur Limited, which rose by Rs 25.88 to close at Rs 668.89, and Shahmurad Sugar Mills Limited, which gained Rs 20.90 to settle at Rs 399.93.

On the losing side, PIA Holding Company LimitedB declined by Rs 1,758.34 to close at Rs 16,576.66, while Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited fell by Rs 627.21 to close at Rs 26,027.79.

Officials have confirmed that an IMF mission, headed by Iva Petrova, is scheduled to visit Pakistan on February 26 to assess the progress of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the $1.1 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).

During the nearly two-week visit, the discussions will hold significant weight, as both parties are expected to review budget proposals based on this year’s performance and outline key aspects of the upcoming budget for the fiscal year 2026-27, with a special focus on provincial financial matters.

A day earlier, the benchmark KSE-100 index turned around to bullish trend, gaining 5,702.68 points, a positive change of 3.29 percent, to close at 178,853.10 points compared to 173,150.42 points on the previous trading day, according to PSX data.

During the session, the ready market recorded a trading volume of 697.682 million shares with a traded value of Rs 49.992 billion, against 716.035 million shares valuing Rs 40.471 billion in the previous session. Market capitalization increased to Rs 20.227 trillion from Rs 19.666 trillion a day earlier.

Out of 484 active companies in the ready market, 334 advanced, 103 declined, and 47 remained unchanged.