The benchmark index staged a late recovery on value-hunting, closing with a marginal gain as regional and political uncertainties continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
Topline Securities Ltd said the index remained range-bound during the session. It climbed as much as 812 points to an intraday high of 169,271.99 before surrendering most of the gains to close at 168,580.41, up 120.30 points, or 0.07 per cent. The index touched an intraday low of 168,065.87.
Trading remained cautious as international oil prices edged higher from the previous session, limiting market momentum. Brent crude rose above $100 per barrel.
United Bank, Systems Ltd, Pakistan State Oil, Pakistan Telecommunications Company and K-Electric were among the major gainers, collectively contributing around 300 points to the index.
On the other hand, Mari Energies, Meezan Bank, Lucky Cement, Hub Power and Oil and Gas Development Company emerged as major laggards, collectively weighing down the index by 187 points.
Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, described the session as one of consolidation. He said the market initially extended its overnight positive momentum, but profit-taking emerged at higher levels, particularly near the 169,000 mark, wiping out most of the early gains and leaving the index largely unchanged.
He added that the session reflected a cautious investor approach following the market’s recent recovery.
Investor participation, however, improved during the session, with trading volume rising 35.84pc to 586.9 million shares. Traded value also increased 11.05pc to Rs22.3 billion. K-Electric remained the most actively traded stock, with 82 million shares changing hands.
Analysts expect the index to maintain its recovery if oil prices moderate and risks in the Middle East ease. However, continued geopolitical uncertainty could keep market volatility elevated.
The 170,000 level remains an important psychological threshold, while investors are likely to closely monitor oil prices and institutional flows for further direction.
