Nervous selling drags index below 165,000

Dawn reported that the benchmark KSE-100 index lost 347.97 points on Tuesday, a 0.21 per cent decline that left it at 164,776.44, below the key 165,000 level. Investors offloaded positions amid political turmoil after governor's rule and an emergency were imposed in PTI-ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Losses from the previous session were extended as nervous participants sold, and the index held within a tight band throughout the day.

Pakistan Telecommunication Company, United Bank, Habib Bank, Lucky Cement and Mari Energies were the main laggards, together erasing 343 points from the index. Trading volume rose 5.72 per cent to 384 million shares, although traded value fell 9.67 per cent to Rs13.1 billion. Ali Najib of Arif Habib Ltd said the index opened higher and peaked at 166,071 before profit-taking pushed it into negative territory.

Auto sales of cars, LCVs, vans and jeeps fell 3 per cent month-on-month and 12 per cent year-on-year to 15,100 units in September, though cumulative sales for 1QFY27 rose 19 per cent to 50,500 units. The report's analysts expect volatility to continue while domestic political uncertainty persists.