Pakistan stocks drop amid profit-taking and weak corporate results

Pakistan stocks continued the decline from the previous session as investors engaged in profit-taking across various sectors.

The index faced pressure throughout the day and closed lower, with investors booking gains after recent upward movements.

The exploration and production (E&P) and fertilizer sectors were the major laggards, impacted by lower-than-expected corporate results. This significantly affected overall market sentiment.

Additionally, negative growth in large-scale manufacturing in August 2024 and the State Bank of Pakistan’s subdued growth projections of 2.5-3.5% for FY25 further dampened market sentiment.

The KSE-100 index shed 0.39% or 335.34 points to close at 85,250.09 points.

Indian stocks ended higher on Friday, breaking a three-day losing streak. This recovery was driven by strong buying in banking and financial stocks, which helped offset losses in the IT sector.

The IT sector faced significant pressure, with Infosys leading the decline.

Meanwhile, foreign investors are on track to sell a record amount of Indian equities in October. Fund managers are shifting their focus to China, hoping that Beijing’s recent stimulus measures will boost its struggling economy.

India’s BSE 100 Index gained 0.29% or 75.12 points to close at 26,309.78 points.

The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index gained 0.24% or 10.58 points to close at 4,469.25 points.

Commodities

Oil prices fell slightly on Friday due to concerns about China’s slowing economy and reduced supply risks from the Middle East.

This week, prices are set to drop over 6%, the biggest decline since early September, after OPEC and the International Energy Agency cut their global demand forecasts.

Fears of an Israeli attack on Iran disrupting oil exports have also eased. Despite better-than-expected consumption and industrial output in September, China’s refinery output fell for the sixth month due to weak fuel consumption and low refining profits.

Brent crude prices declined 0.08% to $74.39 per barrel.

Gold prices went up on Friday, continuing to rise for the fourth day in a row. For the first time ever, gold traded above $2700 due to strong investment interest.

Gold is set to make a profit for the second week in a row as central banks around the world cut interest rates to help the economy, and tensions in the Middle East increase.

International gold prices increased 0.71% reaching $2,712.96 per ounce. In Pakistan, gold prices decreased by PKR 3,000 to PKR 280,900/tola on Friday.

Currency

US dollar eased further against PKR, down 0.06% in the inter-bank market. Pakistani currency settled at 277.61, a gain of 18 paisas against the US dollar. In the open market USD was trading at PKR 280.