PSX witnessed bloodbath session as rising political temperature amid ongoing constitutional crisis raises alarm in stock market.
KSE-100 index seesaws as investors struggle to anticipate impact of actions being taken by authorities.
Analyst says it is “difficult” to comment on outlook of market.
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday came under intense selling pressure as the rising political drama rattled investors and pushed the benchmark index deep into the red with a drop of over 1,200 points.
The rising political temperature in the country amid the ongoing constitutional crisis raised alarm in major sectors of the economy as well as the stock market, which fell below 44,000-point mark.
President Arif Alvi, on the suggestion of Prime Minister Imran Khan, dissolved the National Assembly in an attempt to avoid voting on the no-confidence motion tabled against him [PM Khan].
The benchmark KSE-100 index seesawed as investors struggled to anticipate the impact of actions being taken by the authorities in the wake of the political turmoil.
At the close, the KSE-100 index plummeted 1,250.06 points, or 2.77%, to settle at 43,902.05 points.
Benchmark KSE-100 index intra-day trading curve. — PSX data portal
Speaking to Geo.tv, BMA Capital Management Executive Director Saad Hashemy said that the political uncertainty is taking a toll on the market.
“Investors are always concerned about the economic issues being addressed,” he said, adding that till there is clarity on the political front the market will remain volatile on fears of economic concerns.
Regarding the market’s direction in the ongoing week, the analyst said that it is “difficult” to comment on the outlook. However, Hashemy added that the next two to three days are important as market players are closely eyeing how things are unfolding and developments during this period will give the market a direction.
A report from Arif Habib Limited noted that the benchmark KSE-100 index experienced a “blood bath” session throughout the day due to political unrest.
“A significant decline was observed in the volumes of the market as well,” it stated, adding that across the board selling was witnessed.
Main board volumes remained subdued. On the flip side, hefty volumes were recorded in the third-tier stocks.
Sectors contributing to the performance included banks (-324.5 points), cement (-252.9 points), technology and communications (-100.6 points), exploration and production (-93.5 points) and power (-69.2 points).
Shares of 305 were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 26 scrips closed in the green, 268 in the red, and 11 remained unchanged.
Overall trading volumes plunged to 170.48 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 389.11 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.49 billion.
Telecard Limited was the volume leader with 17.39 million shares traded, losing Rs0.57 to close at Rs13.86. It was followed by K-Electric with 16.01 million shares traded, losing Rs0.18 to close at Rs2.92, and TPL Properties with 12.55 million shares traded, losing Rs1.56 to close at Rs19.26.
As of February 14, Pakistan’s total liquid foreign reserves were $15,947.9 million, with the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) holdings being $11,201.5 million.
Official figures for the week ending February 14, 2025, show that the central bank’s liquid foreign exchange reserves rose by $35 million to $11,201.5 million.
Commercial banks maintained net foreign reserves of $4,746.4 million during the period under review, according to the breakdown of foreign reserves.
The nation’s total liquid foreign reserves as of the week ending February 07, 2025, were $15,862.6 million.
Of these, the central bank held $11,166.6 million in foreign reserves, while commercial banks kept $4,696 million in net reserves.
Remittances under the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) increased from US $9.342 billion at the end of 2024 to US $9.564 billion by the end of January 2025.
The most recent data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed that remittance inflows in January totaled US$222 million, compared to US$203 million in December and US$186 million in November 2024.
Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own a Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Card (POC), desire to engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan using these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking options.
Nearly 778,697 accounts were registered under the scheme by the end of January 2025, according to the data.
By the end of January, foreign-born Pakistanis had contributed US $59 million to Roshan Equity Investment, US $479 million to Naya Pakistan Certificates, and US $799 to Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates.
A year-by-year breakdown of the depreciation value of residential and commercial built-up properties is included in the updated property valuation rates for Karachi that the FBR has announced.
The notification said that built-up structural values on residential property will be gradually reduced.
A residential home’s built-up structure, which is five to ten years old, will lose five percent of its worth.
In a similar vein, constructions between the ages of 10 and 15 will lose 7.5% of their value, while those between the ages of 15 and 25 would lose 10%. Built-up structures that are more than 25 years old will be valued similarly to an open plot.
Furthermore, age will also be used to lower the valuation of built-up properties, such as apartments and flats.
Structures that are five to ten years old will depreciate by ten percent, while those that are ten to twenty years old will depreciate by twenty percent. A 30% depreciation will be applied to properties that are 20 to 30 years old, while a 50% reduction will be applied to those that are above 30 years old.
In terms of commercial built-up properties, buildings that are 10 to 15 years old will lose 5% of their value, while those that are 15 to 25 years old will lose 8%. The value of properties that are more than 25 years old will drop by 10%.
In contrast, there would be a 15% boost in the value of commercial properties in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) that face any Khayaban.