The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a sharp downturn on Thursday after scaling historic highs in the morning session, as profit-taking erased early gains and pushed the benchmark index deep into negative territory.
The KSE-100 Index fell 2,318 points to 148,272 at 2:20pm , marking one of the steepest intraday losses in recent months. Earlier in the day, the index had crossed the milestone of 151,000 points for the first time in history, extending a week-long rally.
Market watchers said the selling pressure was largely driven by profit-taking after consecutive record-breaking sessions.
On Wednesday, the PSX had closed at a record 150,591 points, gaining 820 points in a single session.
Global cues
Regional markets offered a mixed picture. Japan’s Nikkei retreated 0.6% from its record peak, while South Korea’s KOSPI rebounded 0.9% after recent losses. Mainland Chinese blue chips rose 0.5%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng traded flat.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.7% overnight, with futures pointing to further softness amid expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September.
