KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended flat on Friday as sustained profit-taking in the latter half of the session wiped out earlier gains, with the benchmark KSE-100 index slipping 38 points amid concerns over IMF review delays and falling global oil prices.
The index opened on a strong note and climbed to an intraday high of 1,005 points, but investor caution ahead of the weekend led to profit-booking, pushing the benchmark down to close at 146,491.63 — a marginal decline of 0.03pc, according to Topline Securities Ltd.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp said the market was weighed down by concerns about losses at State-Owned Enterprises, delays in the IMF’s next review under the Extended Fund Facility, unmet tax collection conditions by provinces, and declining international oil prices.
Engro Fertilisers, Lucky Cement, Engro Corporation, Meezan Bank, and Airlink collectively added 512 points to the index. Meanwhile, losses in Oil and Gas Development Company, United Bank, Pakistan Petroleum, Hub Power, and Mari Petroleum pulled the index down by 499 points.
Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, noted that investors largely squared off weekly positions, reflecting mixed sentiment. “The index failed to hold above 147,000 as traders adopted a cautious stance,” he said.
Despite the flat close, the index extended its weekly winning streak to an eighth consecutive week, gaining 1,108 points or 0.76pc. It opened the week at 145,650, touched a high of 147,977 and a low of 145,259 before settling at 146,491.
Market participation slowed, with trading volumes down 26.81pc to 473.6 million shares and traded value dropping 19.59pc to Rs32.88bn. Aisha Steel led the volume chart with 30.02 million shares traded.
Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2025
