Selling pressure hits PSX, KSE-100 sheds nearly 400 points in early trade

After days of positive momentum, selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing nearly 400 points during the opening minutes of trading on Wednesday.

At 9:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 156,181.72, a decrease of 381.80 points or 0.24%.

Selling pressure was observed in key sectors including cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation traded in the red. Index-heavy stocks including ARL, HUBCO, OGDC, POL, PSO, WAFI, HBL, MCB, MEBL and UBL traded in the red.

The PSX closed Tuesday’s session again on a positive note as the benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 476.22 points, or 0.31%, to settle at 156,563.53 points.

Internationally, Asian stocks tracked Wall Street higher on Wednesday, and bonds fell as traders firmed up bets that US labour market softness would spur the Federal Reserve to cut rates by at least a quarter point next week.

Markets also took in stride a court ruling that temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, a case which is likely to end up before the US Supreme Court.

Investors are keenly following the unprecedented legal battle as it could upend the central bank’s long-held independence, although there was no immediate market reaction.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei added 0.3%, South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 1.3% and Taiwan’s equity benchmark climbed 1.46%, hitting a record high.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.5%, while mainland Chinese blue chips rose 0.2%.

Overnight, the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each ended the day at fresh all-time highs. S&P 500 futures pointed 0.2% higher on Wednesday.

Traders see a rate cut by the Fed next Wednesday as a sure thing, and even lay 7% odds on a super-sized half-point reduction, the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool show.

A week earlier, markets assigned 7% probability to the Fed holding rates steady, but another dismal monthly payroll number last week convinced investors the Fed had no cushion to wait any longer to support the economy.

This is an intra-day update