Market watch
\nBenchmark index drops 64.6 points to settle at 40,504.75
\nnews desk
\nKARACHI
\nThe Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) succumbed to selling pressure on Monday and the benchmark KSE-100 index edged down over 60 points after recouping most of the midday losses.
\nUncertainty in global markets, in the wake of a worsening coronavirus situation across the world, took a toll on Pakistan\u2019s bourse and triggered sell-off in index-heavy stocks.
\nMoreover, political instability following continued tussle between the opposition and the government impacted the investment climate.
\nEncouraging foreign direct investment (FDI) data, announced during the session, which touched a 10-month high of $317.4 million in October, failed to lift the benchmark index upwards.
\nFollowing a brief open in the positive, the bourse turned bearish as investors resorted to divesting their holdings. The KSE-100 index staged a modest recovery after midday with market participants acting to erase the losses. Nevertheless, the index succumbed to the selling pressure and failed to close the day on a positive note.
\nAt close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decrease of 64.60 points, or 0.16%, to settle at 40,504.75 points. Arif Habib Limited, in its report, stated that the investors had the same sombre mood in the market which was witnessed on last trading day of the previous week.
\nThe index kept oscillating between intraday low and high of -99 points and +221 points. It finally closed in the red.
\n\u201cBanks, exploration and production, and cement sector stocks tried to break the ceiling as international crude oil prices posted 2% growth during the trading session,\u201d it added.
\nInvestors seemed perturbed by the law and order situation in and around the capital city, Islamabad, as well as political wrangling between the opposition and the government.
\nSui Northern Gas Pipelines recovered from the disdain shown by investors on Friday and after trading below last trading day\u2019s closing price posted intra-session gains to cross the previous level.
\nSectors contributing to the performance included exploration and production (-48 points), textile (-25 points), cement (-16 points), power (+19 points) and banks (+14 points).
\nIndividually, stocks that contributed positively to the index included UBL (+20 points), K-Electric (+10 points), Fauji Fertiliser (+9 points), Fauji Cement (+9 points) and Hubco (+9 points).
\nStocks that contributed negatively were Pakistan Petroleum (-19 points), Oil and Gas Development Company (-17 points), Lucky Cement (-17 points), Pakistan Oilfields (-9 points) and Systems Limited (-9 points).
\nOverall, trading volumes fell to 181.4 million shares compared with Friday\u2019s tally of 243.1 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs6.2 billion.
\nShares of 366 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 142 stocks closed higher, 202 declined and 22 remained unchanged.
\nK-Electric was the volume leader with 24.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.18 to close at Rs3.75. It was followed by Maple Leaf Cement with 14.5 million shares, losing Rs0.33 to close at Rs40.03 and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines with 14.2 million shares, gaining Rs0.05 to close at Rs47.19.
\nForeign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs590.8 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Market watch Benchmark index drops 64.6 points to settle at 40,504.75 news desk KARACHI The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) succumbed to selling pressure on Monday and the benchmark KSE-100 index edged down over 60 points after recouping most of the midday losses. Uncertainty in global markets, in the wake of a worsening coronavirus situation across […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":138258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-156681","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n