PSX: selling continues, KSE-100 down nearly 500 points

Business Recorder reported that the Pakistan Stock Exchange came under pressure at the open on Wednesday, with the KSE-100 slipping by close to 500 points in early trade. By 10am the index stood at 164,293.10, a decline of 483.34 points, or 0.29 per cent. Sellers were active across several sectors, among them automobile assemblers, cement makers, commercial banks, oil and gas explorers, oil marketing companies, power producers and refineries.

Index-heavy names including HBL, MCB, UBL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL and POL were also trading lower. The previous session had already closed in negative territory, as profit-taking wiped out an early rebound and the benchmark fell 347.97 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 164,776.44.

Globally, Asian equities edged higher on Wednesday as AI-related stocks recovered part of an earlier selloff, although elevated oil prices and caution before US inflation figures kept sentiment restrained. Chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix climbed more than 2 per cent in South Korea, while the Kospi gained 1.8 per cent. Missile and drone strikes by Houthi forces on Saudi Arabia have also heightened concern over energy supplies.