The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a sharp decline on Thursday as heavy selling dragged the benchmark KSE-100 Index down by 1,421.85 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 164,509.13 by midday.
The downturn wiped out the gains recorded during the previous session, when the benchmark index had advanced by 779 points to close at 165,930.98 on Wednesday.
The market opened on Thursday near its intraday high of 166,180.32 but came under sustained selling pressure, pushing the index down to a low of 164,186.90. The benchmark was trading close to its session low by early afternoon, reflecting cautious investor sentiment.
Trading activity remained moderate, with 60.55 million shares changing hands at a cumulative value of Rs5.11 billion by midday.
Selling pressure extended across several major sectors, including oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, power generation, cement, automobile assembly and refineries. Heavyweight stocks such as Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Mari Energies, Hub Power Company (HUBCO), Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and United Bank Limited (UBL) were among the stocks trading lower.
The decline followed Wednesday’s recovery, which had been supported by selective institutional buying and optimism surrounding diplomatic efforts related to the US-Iran conflict. Expectations linked to the draft automobile policy had also contributed to the improved sentiment.
However, renewed selling on Thursday reversed those gains and left the broader market under pressure.
Investors remained cautious as the session progressed, with market direction dependent on trading activity during the remaining hours. The broad-based decline highlighted continued uncertainty among market participants despite the previous day’s recovery.
