KARACHI
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended losses for the third consecutive day on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing 170.13 points (-0.27 percent) to close at 63,567.33 points.
The market opened on a negative note but turned towards green territory soon. The indices continuously switched between the red and green territories but the bears dominated in the last half an hour of the session amid selling pressure. Overall, the benchmark index has shed 1,070.30 points during the last three sessions.
According to market experts, the investors resorted to profit-taking amid lack of positive triggers. However, the market got positive triggers just after its closing when the SBP said in separate tweets that Pakistan has received a tranche of $705.6 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has confirmed rollover of its two deposits of $1 billion each placed with the central bank for another one year, which were maturing in January 2024.
They said the latest developments hold significance for Pakistan’s economic landscape as the country faces a low level of foreign exchange reserves amid repayments and low non-debt-creating dollar inflows.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 753.68 points, showing an intraday high of 64,043.86 points and an intraday low of 63,290.18 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 105.19 points (-0.24 percent) to close at 43,068.52 points. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index shed 169.99 points (-0.54 percent) to close at 31,331.12 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index increased by 14.87 million shares to 249.26 million shares against 234.39 million traded in the previous session. Similarly, the overall market volumes increased by 13.79 million shares to 421.33 million shares against 407.54 million shares traded a session earlier.
Among scrips, PTC topped the volumes with 45.98 million shares, followed by KEL (41.57 million) and TREET (36.39 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included PTC, KEL, TREET, PIAA, and FFBL, which formed over 41 percent of total volumes.
A total of 329 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 336 in the previous session, out of which shares of 109 closed up, shares of 202 companies closed down while shares of 18 companies remained unchanged. A total of 97 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against the same number of companies in the previous session, out of which share prices of 29 companies closed up, 64 companies closed down and four remained unchanged.
The number of total trades increased to 187,097 from 168,191 recorded in the previous session, while the value traded increased by Rs5.93 billion to Rs18.58 against Rs12.65 billion in the previous session.
In terms of rupee, PMPK remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs51.24 (+7.5 percent) per share, closing at Rs734.5. The runner-up remained BATA, the share price of which climbed up by Rs33 (+1.94 percent) to Rs1,733. RMPL remained the top loser with a decrease of R401.5 (-4.36 percent) per share, closing at Rs8,801, followed by PSMC, the share price of which fell by Rs53.74 (-7.5 percent) to close at Rs662.77 per share.
The major sectors taking the index towards south were power generation and distribution (81 points), cement (52 points), technology & communication (37 points), refinery (31 points), oil & gas exploration companies (27 points), food and personal care products (23 points), miscellaneous (21 points), automobile assemblers (19 points), textile composite (14 points), oil and gas marketing companies and glass and ceramics (9 points each), and chemicals (8 points).
Ten major companies depriving the index of points remained HUBC (38 points), PPL (34 points), PSMC (19 points), MTL, FFBL and TRG (15 points each), LUCK (14 points), HBL (12 points), SYS (11 points), and PSEL (10 points).
The major sectors taking the index towards north remained commercial banks (95 points), fertilizer (93 points), engineering (20 points), investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (4 points), and tobacco (3 points).
Ten major companies adding points to the index remained ENGRO (47 points), EFERT and MEBL (34 points each), UBL (32 points), MARI (13 points), MCB and INIL (7 points each), ISL (6 points), and POL and INDU (5 points each).
