The Pakistan stock market witnessed significant volatility on Friday as its benchmark index, the KSE-100, closed at an intraday low of 165,811.87 points following sharp swings throughout the trading session. At 11:10 AM, the index had plummeted by a massive 1,080.97 points from its previous close of 168,893.08 points.
Despite this sharp drop, volumes remained robust with an impressive turnover of Rs8,993,639,716 recorded on the day. Several stocks were notably active: Unity Foods Limited led in terms of volume, falling by 9.96 percent to Rs10.67 per share after selling off over 48 million shares. First National Equities Limited saw a rise in value, gaining 1.32 percent to Rs1.54 on 22 million shares, while The Bank of Punjab declined slightly at 1.29 percent to Rs31.40 following a sale of nearly 20 million shares.
Conversely, gains were notable among some stocks. Gulistan Spinning Mills Limited experienced the highest ascent, increasing by 19.42 percent to Rs6.15 per share after trading almost six million additional units. Media Times Limited saw its share price rise by a more modest 12.05 percent to Rs6.60, and Power Cement (Pref) recorded an increase of 10.02 percent, reaching Rs24.27 per share.
However, the market’s downturn was propelled primarily by decliners. LOADS Limited (Right) plummeted sharply, dropping 53.12 percent to just Rs0.30 after a sale of nearly four million shares. Trust Securities & Brokerage Limited (R) saw its value fall by 10.53 percent to Rs0.34 following the sale of over three million shares, while Tri-Pack Films Limited experienced an 10 percent decline, closing at Rs162.92 per share after trading just over two and a half million units.
This market dip coincided with Pakistan’s initiation of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against the Afghan Taliban following reports of unprovoked cross-border firings. On Thursday, the KSE-100 had recovered marginally, adding 4,266.79 points to its previous close after a week characterized by significant selling pressure in the stock market.