KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange Monday nosedived and closed in deep red due to across-the-board selling on investor concerns over higher than expected increase in policy rate by the State Bank of Pakistan.

The KSE-100 Index plunged by 744.41 points or 1.60 percent and closed below 46,000 psychological level at 45,745.00 points. Trading activities also remained thin as daily volumes on ready counter decreased to 261.901 million shares as compared to 304.213 million shares traded on previous session.

BRIndex100 decreased by 67.32 points or 1.41 percent to close at 4,720.19 points with total daily turnover of 224.382 million shares.

BRIndex30 declined by 668.26 points or 3.34 percent to close at 19,327.26 points with total daily volumes of 139.788 million shares.

Foreign investors also remained net sellers of shares worth $9.626 million. Total market capitalization declined by Rs 105 billion to Rs 7.839 trillion. Out of total 344 active scrips, 263 closed in negative and only 70 in positive while the value of 11 stocks remained unchanged.

TRG Pak was the volume leader with 22.372 million shares however declined by Rs 7.74 to close at Rs 95.51 followed by Byco Petroleum that closed at Rs 6.83, down Rs 0.21 with 21.603 million shares.

Rafhan Maize and Sapphire Textile were the top gainers increasing by Rs 100.00 and Rs 83.68 respectively to close at Rs 9600.00 and Rs 1199.60 while Pak Tobacco and Sapphire Fiber were the top losers declining by Rs 50.12 and Rs 48.97 respectively to close at Rs 1086.53 and Rs 898.03.

An analyst at Arif Habib Limited said bears ruled over the bulls as investors were unable to digest the higher than expected interest rate increase. The beginning of roll-over week witnessed bearish momentum despite the long awaited news of Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement.

Firstly, only cyclical stocks came under the radar and investors started off-loading positions. Later on, bloodbath session was witnessed as selling came across the board. On the institutional front, cautious stance was noted due to the concerns of foreign selling spree.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (down 184 points), Technology (down 153 points), E&P (down 90 points), Fertilizer (down 70 points) and Textile Composite (down 36 points).

BR Automobile Assembler Index lost 50.92 points or 0.59 percent to close at 8,630.90 points with total turnover of 1.194 million shares.

BR Cement Index plunged by 251.67 points or 3.99 percent to close at 6,049.83 points with 10.335 million shares.

BR Commercial Banks Index inched down by 9.81 points or 0.1 percent to close at 10,315.31 points with 33.532 million shares.

BR Power Generation and Distribution Index decreased by 45.09 points or 0.82 percent to close at 5,467.15 points with 6.357 million shares.

BR Oil and Gas Index declined by 62.26 points or 1.62 percent to close at 3,785.44 points with 10.504 million shares.

BR Tech. & Comm. Index closed at 3,976.83 points, down 174.09 points or 4.19 percent with 54.445 million shares.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021