The KSE-100 Index ended negative for the sixth successive session, registering its lowest closing level since the first week of May 2021, as investors continued to remain jittery over Pakistan's plans to balance economic growth with a widening current account deficit that has put pressure on the rupee.
At close on Friday, the KSE-100 finished with a decrease of 223.36 points or 0.49% to settle at 45,073.52. The index has now cumulatively shed nearly 4% in just six sessions, and last registered an increase on September 16.
On Friday, a minor gain in the morning was quickly erased as stocks remained under pressure, with the auto sector coming under the hammer amid news that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) introduced fresh curbs to limit auto financing.
Consumer financing: SBP revises PRs to moderate import, demand growth
The revised Prudential Regulations (PRs) for consumer financing are aimed at moderating import and demand growth. The changes in PRs effectively prohibit financing for imported vehicles, and tighten regulatory requirements for financing of domestically manufactured/ assembled vehicles of more than 1,000 cc engine capacity and other consumer finance facilities like personal loans and credit cards.
KSE-100 continues downward slide, loses another 300 points
The revised guidelines follow earlier mandates to commercial banks aimed at arresting the decline of the rupee and limiting imports. The measures come in tandem with the interest-rate hike last week.
Sectors dragging the benchmark KSE-100 index down on Friday included cement (72.06 points), banking (52.60 points) and automobile assembling (31.66 points).
Volume on the all-share index decreased from 443.78 million on Thursday to 369.54 million on Friday. The value of shares traded also declined during the session, amounting to Rs11.78 billion from Rs12.38 billion on the previous day.
WorldCall Limited was the volume leader with 39.70 million shares, followed by Unity Foods Limited with 36.17 million shares, and Byco Petroleum 29.57 million shares.
Shares of 510 companies were traded on Friday, of which 146 registered an increase, 351 recorded a fall, while 13 remained unchanged.