Profit-taking grips PSX, KSE-100 sheds nearly 900 points

After initial buying momentum, profit-taking was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 900 points during the intra-day trading on Wednesday. At 12pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 164,606.84, a decrease of 886.74 points or 0.54%. Selling pressure was observed in key sectors, including cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, ARL, HUBCO, SNGPL, SSGC, MCB, NBP, UBL and DGKC, traded in the red. In a key development, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday sought progress on streamlining the National Finance Commission (NFC) process, a key sticking point in the resource-distribution mechanism between the Centre and provinces, official sources revealed to Business Recorder.