Pakistan Stock Exchange’s five-day bullish run was snapped on Tuesday as the KSE-100 Index fell by over 1,100 points and settled below the 187,000 mark. Profit-taking was witnessed after a record-breaking rally, which had been supported by economic optimism, lower energy prices, and expectations of a possible interest rate cut. Heavyweight stocks including FFC, PPL, UBL, OGDC, and LUCK were among the major drags, with around 649 points being wiped off the benchmark index.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), in collaboration with the Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited (PSX), conducted a webinar titled “Promoting Transparency and Market Integrity: Prudential and AML/CFT Compliances” to strengthen market transparency, improve regulatory compliance, and safeguard investors’ rights. Senior SECP officials briefed Securities Brokers on their obligations under the Securities Act, 2015, Securities Brokers (Licensing and Operations) Regulations, 2016, AML Act, 2010, and AML/CFT/CPF Regulations, 2020. The session covered key requirements, including holding a valid Securities Broker licence, safeguarding clients’ assets, maintaining capital adequacy, proper record-keeping, audit trails, internal controls, compliance systems, and complaint-handling mechanisms.

Participants were also guided on Know Your Customer (KYC), Customer Due Diligence (CDD), Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD), Independent Audit, the Compliance Function, Currency Transaction Reports (CTR), Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR), Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) identification, and risk assessment. PSX officials raised key market concerns and misconceptions, while SECP provided regulatory clarifications to support effective compliance. The webinar witnessed strong participation from Securities Brokers, and SECP reaffirmed its commitment to conducting awareness sessions that help market participants keep pace with evolving regulatory requirements and foster a strong culture of compliance across Pakistan’s capital market.