KSE-100 edges 0.15% higher amid political uncertainty

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a rebound on Thursday as the KSE-100 Index endured a topsy-turvy session owing to acceleration of political noise.

The country’s political environment took a turn owing to PTI leader Faisal Vawda’s press conference late on Wednesday and DG ISPR and DG ISI’s joint press conference on Thursday morning.

At close on Thursday, the KSE-100 Index rose 62.82 points or 0.15% to close at 41,602.85 after a volatile session.

Trading kicked off with a spike but volatility became evident shortly which made the index oscillate between the red and green zones throughout the session. Investors brushed off their concerns in the final hours and renewed buying pushed the market in the green zone, making it close with a gain.

KSE-100 plunges 1.54% as political noise dents sentiment

Cement, banking and fertilser segments ended the day upward while automobile and oil sectors registered losses.

A report from Capital Stake stated that the PSX ended a chaotic session on Thursday flat.

“Indices swung in both directions, whereas volumes decreased from last close,” it said. “The ongoing results season failed to cheer investors as they adopted a cautious approach due to uncertainty on political front.”

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that a range-bound session was witnessed at the PSX.

“The benchmark KSE-100 index started off in the green, but continuous political unrest kept investors away, causing the index to hit an intraday low of 221.37 points,” it said. “On the other hand, value buying was seen in the final hour of trading, which led the index to close in the green.”

Volumes remained respectable due to rollover week, with third tier stocks continuing to lead in terms of volume, the report said.

On the economic front, rupee registered back-to-back losses against the US dollar and depreciated Re0.82 or 0.37% in the inter-bank on Thursday to close at Rs221.5.

Sectors lifting the benchmark KSE-100 index higher included technology and communication (65.39 points), fertiliser (25.89 points) and cement (19.42 points).

Volume on the all-share index contracted to 203.6 million from 265.4 million on Wednesday. Similarly, the value of shares traded fell to Rs6.4 billion from Rs7.7 billion recorded in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 22.9 million shares, followed by Dewan Motors with 16.8 million shares and TRG Pakistan with 12.5 million shares

Shares of 337 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 150 registered an increase, 168 recorded a fall, and 19 remained unchanged.