KSE-100 falls below 42,000 points in dull session

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) endured a dull session on Friday as the KSE-100 Index fell 0.33% owing to lack of participation from investors.

Weak macroeconomic indicators kept market participants on the sidelines. As a result, the KSE-100 Index fell 137.22 points or 0.33% to close at 41,948.5 points.

Trading began with a spike however, the market was unable to sustain it owing to weak sentiment and the first session ended flat. Selling pressure accelerated in the second half of the day and the market accumulated losses.

KSE-100 snaps two-day losing spell, inches up 0.19%

Index-heavy automobile, cement, fertiliser, oil and banking sectors closed the day in the red.

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that the benchmark KSE-100 Index opened on a positive note but could not sustain due to lack of participation and led the index to trade in the red zone during the first trading session.

“In the second session market traded in narrow range, main board volumes stayed dull whereas healthy volumes were observed in the third tier stocks,” the report said.

A report from Capital Stake said that bears carried the day at PSX on last trading session of the week.

“Indices oscillated in both directions whereas volumes appreciated from last close,” it said. “Equity markets around the globe showed mixed trend.”

On the economic front, rupee lost Re0.05 or 0.02% against the US dollar, ending the day at Rs218.43.

Moreover, net reserves with SBP declined by $303 million on weekly basis to $7.6 billion.

Sectors dragging the benchmark KSE-100 index downward, included technology and communication (72.11 points), tobacco (19.10 points) and refinery (8.98 points).

Volume on the all-share index rose to 328.7 million from 222.2 million on Thursday. On the other hand, the value of shares traded retreated to Rs9.61 billion from Rs9.67 billion recorded in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 108.6 million shares, followed by TRG Pakistan with 30.7 million shares and G3 Technologies with 22.5 million shares

Shares of 344 companies were traded on Friday, of which 136 registered an increase, 180 recorded a fall, and 28 remained unchanged.