KSE-100 extends losses, drops 0.35%

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended losses on Wednesday as the KSE-100 Index shed 0.35% owing to downward revision of ratings of five Pakistani banks by Moody’s.

Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday downgraded the long-term deposit ratings to Caa1 from B3 of five banks.

As a result, the KSE-100 Index fell 148.34 points or 0.35% to close at 42,007.14.

KSE-100 reverses trend, falls 0.13%

Trading began with a slide however, the KSE-100 Index staged a turnaround and traded positive at noon. Selling pressure emerged at this point and the market began descent again and closed the day in the red.

Index-heavy cement, chemical and banking spaces bore the brunt of selling pressure and saw sell-off however, automobile space closed with gains.

A report from Capital Stake stated that bears overpowered the bulls at the PSX on Wednesday.

“Indices traded in red for most part of the day whereas volumes decreased from last close,” it said.

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that a negative session was witnessed at PSX, as lack of participation led the index to trade in red zone for majority of trading session.

“Volumes remained dry in the main board whereas third tier stocks continued to remain board leaders,” it said. “Technology sector remained in the limelight.”

Topline Securities, in its report, said that Pakistan equities witnessed a mixed day.

“Initially, market opened on a negative note in the backdrop of Moody’s action where the global rating agency downgraded the long term deposit ratings to Caa1 from B3 of five Pakistani banks,” it said.

On the economic front, remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis fell by 12.33% to $2,437.04 million on a year-on-year basis in September 2022. On month-on-month, remittances declined by 10.53%.

On the flip side, the appreciation run of Pakistan’s rupee halted and it registered a marginal decline of 0.04% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market, closing at Rs217.88.

Sectors dragging the benchmark KSE-100 Index downward included technology and communication (104.40 points), chemical (40.03 points) and cement (13.29 points).

Volume on the all-share index fell to 238.7 million from 304.8 million on Tuesday. On the other hand, the value of shares traded fell to Rs7.85 billion from Rs9.84 billion recorded in the previous session.

K-Electric was the volume leader with 34.45 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 30.54 million shares and Telecard Limited with 16.27 million shares

Shares of 353 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 122 registered an increase, 204 recorded a fall, and 27 remained unchanged.