The Pakistani stock market faced downward pressure as the trading session closed on Friday.
Investor confidence waned due to the falling foreign exchange reserves reported by the State Bank of Pakistan and the implementation of reciprocal tariffs by the United States under Donald Trump’s administration, heightening fears of a potential global trade war.
Topline Securities Ltd. reported that the benchmark KSE 100 index started strong, climbing to an intraday high of 918 points. However, as the session progressed, nervous investors began selling, closing the index at 112,085.30, a decline of 478.78 points or 0.43 per cent compared to the previous day.
Leading contributors to the index included Lucky Cement, Fauji Fertilizer, Lucky Core Industries, and National Bank, which together added 486 points. In contrast, significant losses were seen in Engro Holdings, Pakistan Petroleum, PSO, Oil and Gas Development Company, and Meezan Bank shares, which collectively erased 583 points from the index.
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— The Kahloon Podcast (@KahloonPodcast) January 31, 2025In related news, Hub Power announced through a notice to the exchange that its wholly owned subsidiary, Hub Power Holdings Ltd, through its new venture, Hubco Green (Pvt) Ltd, is venturing into the electric vehicle sector. This includes setting up an infrastructure for electric vehicle charging, importing, manufacturing, and assembling charging accessories. Hubco Green has also entered a collaboration agreement with PSO to install charging stations at various PSO locations throughout Pakistan.
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Ahsan Mehanti from Arif Habib Corporation noted that the market has faced losses for three consecutive sessions, driven by institutional profit-taking in major stocks amid volatile global markets due to U.S. tariffs. He also highlighted that concerns over the rupee’s instability, depleting foreign reserves due to debt repayments, foreign capital outflows, and uncertainty regarding the upcoming IMF review contributed to a bearish sentiment at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).
Market activity remained muted, with trading volumes dropping by 23.40 percent to 457.04 million shares and the traded value falling by 25.02 percent to Rs 23.21 billion day-on-day.
