The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) faced sustained selling pressure on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index dropping by nearly 2,000 points.

According to the PSX website, the KSE-100 index lost 1,991.49 points, a negative change of 1.77 per cent, to close at 110,423.32 points as compared to 112,414.81 points on the last trading day.

A total of 628,026,201 shares were traded during the day as compared to 880,598,305 shares the previous trading day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs33.582 billion against Rs54.455 billion on the last trading day.

As many as 450 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 113 of them recorded gains and 284 sustained losses, whereas the share price of 53 companies remained unchanged.

The three top trading companies were Fauji Foods Limited with 93,341,113 shares at Rs16.39 per share, WorldCall Telecom with 49,879,145 shares at Rs1.72 per share and TRG Pak Limited with 46,907,628 shares at Rs70.45 per share.

Nestle Pakistan Limited saw a maximum increase of Rs198.81 per share price, closing at Rs7,430.81, whereas the runner-up was Mitchells Fruit Farms Limited with Rs17.44 rise in its per share price to Rs266.05.

Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited witnessed a maximum decrease of Rs232.60 per share closing at Rs20,767.41 followed by Nestle Pakistan Limited with Rs198.10 decline to close at Rs9,001.90.

The PSX was closed on Wednesday due to a public holiday. On Tuesday, the market had already experienced volatility, closing down significantly as the KSE-100 Index fell by 1,509.61 points or 1.33%, ending at 112,414.81 points due to rollover and year-end selling pressures.

Meanwhile, in global markets, Asian shares saw a slight uptick in holiday-thinned trading on Thursday, continuing earlier gains without significant news to shift market trends. The dollar remained near a two-year high.

As the year-end approaches, trading volumes have decreased, with investors primarily focused on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook. Markets in Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand were closed for a holiday on Thursday.

Following comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicating fewer rate cuts for the next year, traders are now anticipating approximately 35 basis points of easing in 2025. This shift has led to an increase in US Treasury yields and strengthened the dollar, which is impacting commodities and gold prices.

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The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield remained steady at 4.5967%, having previously risen above 4.6% for the first time since May 30. The two-year yield also increased to 4.3407%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose by 0.04%, positioning for a nearly 2% weekly gain, influenced by trends on Wall Street earlier in the week.