Profit-taking returns as KSE-100 sheds over 800 points

After a brief positive start, profit-taking returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 800 points during intra-day trading on Tuesday. At 10:25am, the benchmark index was hovering at 166,914.96, an increase of 837.44 points or 0.5%. Selling pressure was observed in key sectors including cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, PSO and WAFI, traded in the red. In a key development, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani authorities on Monday deliberated on revising downward the GDP projection to 3.5% for the current fiscal year against the government target of 4.2%, as recent floods caused damage to infrastructure, agriculture, and livestock. Sources told Business Recorder that in view of the damages caused by recent floods and external factors, an increase in inflation is anticipated.