The KSE-100 Index dropped sharply after the mid-day break as Sindh announced imposing a nine-day lockdown due to rising coronavirus cases, weakening investor confidence during the trading session at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday.

The index started the day in the green, hitting an intra-day high of 47,643. However, announcement of the lockdown dented investor sentiment, eventually causing the KSE-100 to end negative with a fall of 257.04 points. At close, the index finished at 47,055.29.

On a weekly basis, the benchmark KSE-100 index lost 1.54%.

As per analysts, the announcement of a lockdown in Sindh to curb the spread of the coronavirus dented investors’ confidence, said Capital Stake in a post-market comment.

Sindh decides to impose lockdown in Karachi till August 8

The Sindh government on Friday decided to impose a 'partial' lockdown in Karachi, starting tonight until August 8. The decision was taken in a meeting of the Provincial Corona Task Force, chaired by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, who later said that this lockdown is partial, and not like the one imposed earlier.

Sectors dragging the KSE-100 index lower included technology and communication (55.23 points), fertilizer (41.93 points), and cement (40.12 points).

Volume on the all-share index increased from 376.44 million on Thursday to 399.09 million on Friday. The value of shares traded during the session amounted to Rs13.76 billion, an increase from Rs12.266 billion on Thursday.

KSE-100 stages recovery to end just 6 points lower

WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 39.17 million shares, followed by Byco Petroleum with 38.43 million shares, and Telecard Limited at 24.59 million shares.

Shares of 407 companies were traded on Friday, of which 139 registered an increase, 252 recorded a fall, while 16 remained unchanged.