The benchmark KSE-100 Index witnessed a range-bound session on Monday, ending marginally lower while volumes declined as investors chose to remain cautious at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

At close, the KSE-100 finished with a slight drop of 38.95 points or 0.08% to settle at 46,918.52.

The index barely managed to sustain itself over the 47,000 level, with all intra-day gains erased just as quickly as they were registered.

“To note, concerns regarding a ballooning trade deficit number coupled with a potential reclassification of Pakistan from the MSCI Emerging Market Index to the MSCI Frontier Market Index kept the investors at bay,” said Topline Securities in its post-market comment.

On the results front, Fauji Cement Company Limited announced its FY21 EPS of Rs2.52 as compared to an LPS of (Rs0.04) in the corresponding period last year.

Sectors dragging the benchmark KSE 100 index lower included fertiliser (28.64 points), cement (27.26 points), and refinery (14.84 points).

KSE-100 closes below 47,000 again

Volume on the all-share index decreased from 464.98 million on Friday to 417.85 million on Monday. The value of shares traded during the session also declined marginally to Rs12.02 billion from Rs12.22 billion on Friday.

TPL Corp Limited was the volume leader with 59.67 million shares, followed by Service Fabrics Limited (R) with 35.74 million shares, and Telecard Limited at 31.01 million shares.

Shares of 382 companies were traded on Monday, of which 164 registered an increase, 203 recorded a fall, while 15 remained unchanged.