Equities end lower for second straight session

KARACHI: The Paki­stan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday continued its downward trend despite a bullish opening, as growing concerns on the economic and political fronts kept investors jittery, triggering late selling and forcing the benchmark KSE-100 index to close on a negative note for the second straight session.

Topline Securities Ltd said the PSX opened higher, supported by news that the government plans to address Rs1.49 trillion of the Rs3.6tr gas sector circular debt. The settlement plan is expected to be partly funded by higher dividends from state-owned E&Ps and increased petroleum development levy (PDL) collections.

The initial optimism pushed the index to an intraday high of 986 points at 178,942.31. However, the positive momentum quickly faded as aggressive selling pressure took over, sending the index to an intraday low of 1,317 points at 176,638.11.

The market ultimately settled at 176,846.36, down 1,109.15 points or 0.62 per cent, as early gains were completely erased and bears took firm control of the session.

Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said market sentiment weakened following media reports that the petroleum minister was set to negotiate with local refineries to reduce diesel prices, amid elevated fuel costs and global energy market disruptions. The development........

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