The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended the week in negative territory as investors engaged in profit-taking after a period of steady growth. On Friday, the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 145,382.79 points, marking a drop of 264.34 points, or 0.18%, from the previous session’s close of 145,647.13 points.
Samiullah Tariq, Head of Research at Pak-Kuwait Investment Company, attributed the decline to profit-taking, noting that “The market was continuously increasing for some days.” During the trading session, the KSE-100 index reached an intraday high of 146,813.43 points before falling to a low of 144,917.18 points.
Pakistan’s Foreign Reserves Fall Amid Rising Trade Deficit
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank have fallen for a third consecutive week, according to a statement from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday. As of August 1, reserves stood at $14.232 billion, a decrease of $72 million from the previous week, primarily due to external debt repayments.
The country’s total liquid foreign reserves also saw a decline, dropping by $111 million to $19.496 billion. Commercial bank holdings accounted for a portion of this drop, falling by $39 million to $5.264 billion. Concurrently, Pakistan’s trade deficit widened in July. Imports surged by 12% month-on-month and 29% year-on-year to $5.4 billion, while exports rose to $2.7 billion, an increase of 9% month-on-month and 17% year-on-year. This led to a 44% year-on-year expansion of the trade deficit, reaching $2.8 billion for the month.
