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       KARACHI: After a brief bullish start driven by the government’s approval of a circular debt settlement plan, the stock market came under selling pressure on Thursday, primarily due to escalating tensions in the Middle East. This pressure drag-ged the benchmark index below the 120,000 mark during intraday trading.

       According to Topline Securities Ltd, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened on a strong note following news that the federal cabinet had approved a financial restructuring plan aimed at reducing Rs1.275 trillion in circular debt within the power sector over the next six years.

       Riding this wave of opt-i----mism, the benchmark in--dex climbed as high as 1,279 points intraday. How---ever, the bullish mom--entum quickly faded as profit-taking emerged later in the session, mirroring global market trends.

       The index not only lost its upward drive but also dipped below the 120,000 level, hitting an intraday low of 119,770—down 696 points. Eventually, it clos--ed at 120,002.59, registering a day-on-day decline of 463 points, or 0.38pc.

       Rising geopolitical tensions—particularly the escalating standoff between Iran and Israel—soured investor sentiment and led to a broad-based pullback. This overshadowed earlier optimism and underscored the fragility of market confidence in a highly volatile global environment.

       On the positive side, index heavyweights such as United Bank, Bank Al-Habib, MCB Bank, and Habib Metropolitan Bank offered some support, collectively contributing 203 points. However, declines in Packages Ltd, Engro Fertiliser, Engro Hold-ings, and Lucky Cement erased those gains, pulling the index down by a combined 270 points.

       Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at AHL, said that geopolitical tremors “took the bulls by the horns,” halting the strong momentum sparked by the news of the circular debt settlement plan. Reports of Iran’s attack on Israel’s capital weighed heavily on bullish sentiment, triggering widespread profit-taking and selling pressure.

       Market activity remai-ned subdued, with trading volume falling by 14.52pc to 604.53 million shares, while traded value decli-ned by 3.9pc to Rs20.44 billion on a day-on-day basis. Worldcall Telecom Ltd led the volume chart with 64.6 million shares traded.

       Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2025