PSX slips despite Moody’s credit rating upgrade

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended Monday’s session lower, with the benchmark KSE-100 index dropping nearly 200 points after failing to sustain its early gains. After hitting an intraday peak of 178,123, the index retreated as profit‑taking emerged, leaving it once again below the pivotal 178,000–180,000 resistance band.

At the market close, the KSE‑100 slipped 199.84 points, or 0.11%, to settle at 176,966.69.

Arif Habib Limited (AHL) observed in its daily note that the PSX encountered resistance again in the 178,000–180,000 range, peaking near 178,100 before slipping to close at 176,967, down roughly 199.8 points. Trading breadth was mixed, with 47 stocks advancing and 51 declining. The biggest contributors to the upside were Oil & Gas Development Company (OGDC), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) and Maple Leaf Cement, which rose 1.62%, 2.08% and 3.88% respectively. Conversely, Engro Holdings, Meezan Bank and Service Industries led the decline, falling 1.54%, 1.07% and 4.33%. Notably, Moody’s lifted Pakistan’s sovereign credit rating to B3 from Caa1, highlighting improvements in foreign‑exchange reserves and ongoing economic reforms.

AHL added that stronger governance could help the government preserve its recent external‑sector gains and bolster fiscal indicators. In a separate development, Army Chief General Asim Munir visited Iran as part of attempts to ease tensions between Tehran and Washington. The brokerage stressed that market focus this week will likely stay on the 178,000–180,000 resistance zone and how the index behaves around those levels.

Topline Securities noted in its market review that the bourse opened on a positive note, with the KSE‑100 climbing to an intraday high of 956 points on strong buying interest. The advance could not be held, as profit‑taking took hold later in the session, pushing the index down to an intraday low of 430 points.

The KSE‑100 finally closed at 176,967, down 200 points or 0.11%, as late‑session selling erased much of the morning’s advance. On the upside, OGDC, PPL, Maple Leaf Cement, DG Khan Cement and Fauji Cement were the leading contributors, together adding 391 points to the index. On the downside, Engro Holdings, Meezan Bank, Service Industries and Systems Ltd were the chief detractors, subtracting 388 points. According to Topline, trading remained lively, with turnover of 934 million shares valued at Rs 44.10 billion. The session essentially became a battle between fresh buying interest and profit‑taking, with late selling wiping out most of the early gains.

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