PSX closes flat amid range-bound trading

KARACHI: Following a strong positive session a day earlier, the market remained range-bound on Thursday, reflecting a tussle between optimistic investors riding bullish momentum and cautious participants booking profits ahead of the futures contract roll-over week, according to Topline Securities.

The index swung between an intraday high of +1,384 points (0.88 per cent) and a low of -431 points (0.27 per cent), before closing marginally higher by 0.05 per cent at 158,037 points.

The indecisive movement underscored investor caution at elevated levels and ahead of derivatives expiry, resulting in a lack of directional conviction throughout the session.

In traded value, OGDC ($21 million), PSO ($20.9 million), BOP ($15.2 million), PPL ($13 million) and HUBC ($10 million) led activity.

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Top positive contributions came from HUBC, OGDC, BOP, SYS and PSO, which collectively added 663 points to the index. Conversely, UBL, ENGROH, HBL, FFC and MARI lost value, dragging the index down by 248 points.

Daily traded volume and value stood at 2 billion shares and PKR 69 billion, respectively.

On a weekly basis, the KSE-100 Index gained 2.3 per cent, as liquidity continued to push the market to fresh highs, largely driven by institutional buying.

Key developments during the week included: 1) the August 2025 current account deficit at US$245 million, compared with July’s $379 million; and 2) foreign direct investment (FDI) of $114 million in August 2025, down 30 per cent month-on-month and 45 per cent year-on-year.

Average daily traded volume and value for the week came in at 1.54 billion shares and Rs50 billion, respectively.

Syed Raza Hassan