A rangebound session was witnessed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the KSE-100 Index closed in the red on Thursday, losing 0.6% as both volume and value of shares traded declined.

The market opened on a positive note, gaining 213.81 points as the KSE-100 recorded an intra-day high of 46,843.69.

However, it failed to sustain the gains, and ended the day with a loss of 281.7 points or 0.60% to finish at 46,348.18 points.

“Lackluster activity was witnessed in the market, as lack of triggers and higher international commodity prices meant investors opted to stay on the sidelines,” said Topline Securities in its post-market comment.

On the economic front, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) signed the financing agreement amounting to $761.5 million for the import of crude oil, refined petroleum products, and LNG, which was announced earlier.

KSE-100 changes direction, gains 230 points

Sectors dragging the benchmark KSE 100 index downwards included banking (62.00 points), oil and gas exploration (51.25 points), and technology and communication (40.40 points).

Meanwhile, volume on the all-share index decreased significantly to 269.51 million on Thursday from 320.33 million on Wednesday. The value of shares traded also declined, amounting to Rs9.49 billion from Rs10.65 billion on Wednesday.

Ghani Global Holdings was the volume leader with 30.21 million shares, followed by Service Fabrics with 20.52 million shares, and Telecard LimitedXB with 14.30 million shares.

Shares of 352 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 95 registered an increase, 232 recorded a fall, while 25 remained unchanged.