The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index closed nearly flat on Wednesday, as investor sentiment remained weak amid lack of positive triggers.
The KSE-100 started slightly positive, hitting an intra-day high of 46,036.04. However, profit-taking curbed the gains as the index was unable to sustain the level over 46,000.
At close, the KSE-100 settled at 45,889.58, down by 20.89 points or 0.05%.
“The equity market witnessed a lacklustre session today [Wednesday] and closed negative due to the absence of any positive triggers,” brokerage house Ismail Iqbal Securities stated in its post-market report.
Oil & gas exploration companies, technology & communication, and fertiliser sectors were the major laggards during the day, according to the brokerage house.
On Tuesday, the KSE-100 had gained a little over 100 points amid choppy trading.
Investors have mostly remained on the sidelines in previous sessions as the market awaits positive triggers that could boost sentiment.
The caretaker government has said to further ease restrictions on imports, but depleting foreign exchange reserves and lack of foreign inflows would make it difficult to pursue.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decreased by another $140 million on a weekly basis, clocking in at $7.64 billion as of September 8, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed.
Meanwhile, the interim government’s initiative to start a large-scale crackdown against smuggling and hoarding has helped the rupee gain ground against the US dollar.
The Pakistani rupee maintained its upward trajectory for the 11th consecutive session against the US dollar, appreciating 0.35% in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.
As per the SBP, the rupee settled at 293.88 after an increase of Rs1.02 in the inter-bank market.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 129.37 million from 117.14 million on Tuesday.
The value of shares decreased to Rs3.64 billion from Rs4.1 billion in the previous session.
Treet Corp remained the volume leader with 17.8 million shares, followed by SEARLR2 with 15.95 million shares and Pak Petroleum with 6.15 million shares.
Shares of 314 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 133 registered an increase, 160 recorded a fall, and 21 remained unchanged.
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