Benchmark KSE-100 index falls 233.75 points to close at 45,059.12
\nThe Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another bearish session on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing 233.75 points (-0.52 percent) to close at 45,059.12 points.
\nConcerns about rising coronavirus cases and deaths dented the investment climate as investors kept a close watch on news about measures to be taken by the government to contain the spread of Covid-19 during the third wave in Pakistan.
\nThe KSE-100 Index opened on a positive note but moved to the red zone later on and remained there till the end of the session. The index traded in a range of 568.1 points, showing an intraday high of 45,588.9 and a low of 45,020.8.
\nAmong other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 149.81 points (-0.49 percent) to close at 30,485.45 points, while All Share Islamic Index shed 24.47 points (-0.11 percent) to close at 21,857.96 points.
\nA total of 394 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of them shares of 156 closed up, shares of 225 closed down while shares of 13 companies remained unchanged.
\nThe overall market volumes decreased by 61.04 million to 305.76 million shares, while market capitalisation decreased by Rs27.84 billion. The number of total trades decreased by 13,766 to 116,925, and value traded decreased by Rs1.17 billion to Rs16.16 billion.
\nAmong scrips, TELE topped the volumes with 29.33 million shares, followed by ANL (25.61 million) and TRG (18.34 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TELE, ANL, TRG, UNITY, and GGL, which formed over 33 percent of total volumes.
\nForeign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs241.9 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
\nSector-wise, the index was let down by commercial banks with 93 points, oil & gas exploration companies with 44 points, technology & communication with 35 points, cement with 33 points and pharmaceuticals with 29 points. The most points taken off the index were by HBL which stripped the index of 39 points followed by OGDC with 36 points, PPL with 24 points, MCB with 23 points and TRG with 21 points.
\nThe sectors propping up the index were fertilizer with 30 points, chemical with 17 points, refinery with 15 points, textile composite with 13 points and transport with 3 points. The most points added to the index was by COLG which contributed 24 points followed by FFC with 21 points, NRL with 13 points, ENGRO with 13 points and POL with 12 points.
\nArif Habib Limited, in its report, stated that the index opened positive, finding support from strong earnings expectations and macroeconomic triggers. However, later on, it lost the impetus amid the announcement of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) that deferred the summary till the next meeting on 40 percent payments to independent power producers (IPPs).
\nFurther, the surge in inflation expectations of April 21 to double digits also dented investors\u2019 sentiments.
\nAccording to the report, selling pressure was concentrated in bank, exploration and production, cement and steel sectors similar to what was witnessed on Tuesday and the absence of active buyers worsened the situation, resulting in the index closing lower than the previous day\u2019s close.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Benchmark KSE-100 index falls 233.75 points to close at 45,059.12 The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another bearish session on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing 233.75 points (-0.52 percent) to close at 45,059.12 points. Concerns about rising coronavirus cases and deaths dented the investment climate as investors kept a close watch on news […]<\/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":["post-188992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n