KSE-100 ends marginally lower amid profit-taking

The Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) bullish run ended amid a lackluster session, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index ended the day on a flattish note with a drop of 80 points ahead of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s relief package announcement.

Market opened on a positive note and hit an intra-day high of 47,320 points but simmered down in the latter part of the session owing to profit-taking. At close, the KSE-100 Index settled lower by 80.48 points or 0.17% to finish at 47,032.44.

“Profit-taking was seen in the cement sector as coal prices continue to rise again coupled with investors focus shifting towards the upcoming Monetary Policy where a possible rate hike is on the cards,” said the Topline Securities in its post-market comment.

On the economic front, Pakistan's rupee continued to recover against the US dollar, closing below the 170 level for the first time in over a month in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.

In corporate news, profitability of companies listed at the KSE-100 Index maintained their strong performance, growing 30% year on year in the first quarter of FY22.

Positive sentiment at PSX continues, KSE-100 gains 138 points

Meanwhile, volume on the all-share index increased from 306.2 million on Tuesday to 380.56 million on Wednesday. The value of the shares trade also increased, amounting to Rs15.55 billion from Rs13.78 billion on Tuesday.

PTCL was the volume leader with 22.72 million shares, followed by Hascol Petrol with 17.31 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 16.29 million shares.

Shares of 366 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 182 registered an increase, 163 recorded a fall, while 21 remained unchanged.