The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) kicked off the week on a turbulent note, with heavy profit-taking dragging the benchmark KSE-100 Index down 677.75 points (0.45%) to settle at 148,815.30 on Monday.
The market saw wide intraday swings, climbing as high as 150,079.75 in early trade before reversing sharply to a low of 148,757.13. This 1,322-point trading range reflected heightened activity as investors adjusted positions ahead of the monthly futures rollover.
Profit-Taking Dominates Ahead of Futures Settlement
Analysts attributed the pressure largely to rollover-related selling. Saad Hanif, Head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, pointed out that roughly Rs77 billion in outstanding futures contracts needed to be shifted to next month’s series. “Rollover weeks typically create temporary selling pressure as traders square off and reopen positions,” he explained.
Out of the 100 companies on the index, 63 stocks closed lower, 35 advanced, and 2 remained unchanged, with trading volume in the KSE-100 slipping to 210.5 million shares.
Broader Market Mirrors Weakness
The All-Share Index also eased, dropping 314.97 points (0.34%) to close at 91,673.12. Market-wide turnover fell to 693.3 million shares, a notable decline from 802 million in the previous session, while the traded value dropped sharply to Rs26.34 billion from Rs40.45 billion.
A total of 336,837 trades were recorded across 479 listed companies, with losers outpacing gainers 246 to 204.
Underlying Momentum Remains Intact
Despite Monday’s pullback, analysts stressed that sentiment remains broadly upbeat. The KSE-100 notched a 2% weekly gain last week, briefly crossing 151,000 points—a sign that the market’s bullish undertone is still in place, supported by strong earnings reports and investor participation.
While short-term volatility is expected to persist through the rollover period, market watchers say investors remain confident in the index’s longer-term trajectory.
