Eighth consecutive decline: KSE-100 drops 0.75% in mixed trading

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw no respite on Friday as the KSE-100 Index closed in the red for the eighth consecutive session amid mixed trading.

The market rose in the first half owing to slight recovery in rupee but lost ground in the second session as drop in Pakistan’s bond yields shattered sentiment.

As a result, the KSE-100 Index finished the day with a drop of 307.74 points or 0.75% to close at 40,620.21. On a weekly basis, the KSE-100 Index lost 2.5%.

KSE-100 recovers to end marginally negative

Trading began with an uptick however, the market erased all gains owing to selling pressure and ended the first session with 52-point loss. The decline accelerated in the second half and dragged the KSE-100 Index further downward.

The fall dragged index-heavy automobile, cement, chemical, banks and oil sectors lower.

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that the market witnessed a mixed session as bulls and bears fought for the dominance all day long.

“The opening session consisted of a positive motion as the rupee broke its losing streak against the US dollar,” it said. “In the second session, investors opted for profit taking in the last hour which led the index to lose 373.96 points.”

Volumes remained dry across the board whereas, hefty volumes were witnessed in the third tier stocks, the report said.

A report from Capital Stake said that the PSX closed last trading session of the week on a pessimistic note.

“Indices swayed in both directions before finally closing in red, whereas volumes depreciated from last close,” it said.

On the economic front, the foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan fell $278 million on weekly basis to $8.35 billion on Thursday.

Moreover, rupee gained Re0.06 or 0.02% against the US dollar on a day-on-day basis to close at Rs239.65.

Sectors causing the benchmark KSE-100 Index to slip lower included banking (111.42 points), cement (43.03 points) and power generation and distribution (35.97 points).

Volume on the all-share index fell to 165.3 million from 190.1 million on Thursday. On the other hand, the value of shares traded inched up to Rs6.87 billion from Rs6.3 billion recorded in the previous session.

Hascol was the volume leader with 29.8 million shares, followed by TRG Pakistan with 23.9 million shares and K-Electric with 11.8 million shares

Shares of 314 companies were traded on Friday, of which 106 registered an increase, 176 recorded a fall, and 32 remained unchanged.