Stocks selling gripped the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday, dragging the benchmark KSE-100 Index down by more than 1,500 points till Friday prayers break.
The KSE-100 Index stood at 178,979.43 points, reflecting a drop of 1533.21 points, or minus 0.86%.
Out of 565 active companies in the ready market, 203 advanced, 244 declined, and 118 remained unchanged.
Major sectors came under pressure, including cement, commercial banking, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies (OMCs), and power generation.
Prominent index-weighted stocks such as OGDC, MARI, POL, PPL, HUBCO, ARL, MCB, MEBL, and UBL were all trading in negative territory.
According to sources, the government is weighing the option of imposing a Cess on fertiliser producers to recover windfall gains, with the proceeds expected to be earmarked for farmers’ support.
Earlier on Thursday, the benchmark KSE-100 Index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a bearish trend, losing 2,537.16 points, a negative change of 1.39 percent, to close at 180,512.65 points.
During the session, the ready market recorded a trading volume of 873.996 million shares with a traded value of Rs 41.766 billion, against 734.671 million shares valuing Rs 35.393 billion in the previous session.
K-Electric Limited topped the volume chart with 176.912 million shares, followed by Cnergyico PK with 52.213 million shares and Amtex Limited with 39.738 million shares.
The top gainers included Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which rose by Rs 333.64 to close at Rs 26,900.00, and Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited, which gained Rs 197.76 to settle at Rs 9,772.78.
On the losing side, PIA Holding Company Limited declined by Rs 365.71 to close at Rs 17,860.29, while Nestle Pakistan Limited fell by Rs 84.59 to close at Rs 8,012.50.
In the futures market, turnover stood at 198.316 million shares with a traded value of Rs 10.287 billion, compared to 149.370 million shares worth Rs 8.556 billion in the previous session.
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