KSE-100 slides 0.94% owing to volatile political situation

Volatility shrouded the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday and the KSE-100 Index fell 0.94% as political temperature remained high throughout the day.

Expectation of another operation against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan drove the decline. Investors remained mostly on sidelines to safeguard their holdings.

At close, the KSE-100 Index was down 391.58 points or 0.94% to settle at 41,442.08.

Late session selling spree plunges KSE-100 further into red

After a mixed open, the market declined steadily throughout the session.

All index-heavy sectors including automobile, cement, fertiliser, chemical, banking and oil ended the day with a loss.

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that a negative session was recorded at the PSX.

“The benchmark KSE-100 index opened in the green, but momentum quickly turned as the index swayed both ways and concluded in the deep red after recording an intra-day low of 422.02 points as political instability prevailed surrounding the former prime minister’s imminent court hearings.”

Investor participation was varied, with moderate volumes recorded across the board and third-tier equities leading the volume board, the report added.

A report from Capital Stake cited that negative sentiment continued to surround the PSX on Thursday.

“Indices traded between both zones while volumes contracted from last close,” it said.

Sectors painting the benchmark KSE-100 index in red included banking (128.13 points), technology and communication (92.86 points) and fertiliser (56.13 points).

Volume on the all-share index plunged to 101.3 million from 125.5 million on Wednesday, while the value of shares traded dropped to Rs3 billion from Rs3.5 billion recorded in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 9.9 million shares followed by Pak Refinery with 7.5 million shares and Cnergyico PK with 6.7 million shares.

Shares of 306 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 82 registered an increase, 205 recorded a fall and 19 remained unchanged.