A positive start was followed by subdued trading as the benchmark KSE-100 Index remained range-bound, ending marginally negative as volume of shares took a massive hit on Wednesday.

At close, the KSE-100 finished with a drop of 46.90 points or 0.10% to finish at 45,684.80. Volume of shares traded dropped to around 145 million shares on the all-share index, substantially lower when compared with Tuesday's tally of nearly 275 million.

“Lacklustre volumes were witnessed at the PSX as investors expect inflationary pressure due to increase in local petroleum prices,” said Topline Securities in its post-market comment.

KSE-100 ends higher after late-session buying

"PSX recorded its 20-month lowest traded value of Rs4.13 billion. The previous lowest was seen on Jun 19, 2020, of Rs3.3 billion," added Topline Securities.

On the economic front, the federal government on Tuesday announced a massive increase of up to Rs12.03 per litre increase in the prices of petroleum products effective from February 16.

The move is likely to add to inflationary pressure in the country with the reading already hitting a two-year high in January.

On the corporate front, Pioneer Cement PIOC announced its 2QFY22 EPS at Rs2.92, which led the stock to close down 1.42%.

Sectors chipping off most points from the benchmark index included cement (21.08 points), banking (19.94 points), and oil and gas marketing (10.07 points).

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 145.31 million from 274.58 million on Tuesday. The value of shares traded dropped to Rs4.14 billion from Rs6.76 billion recorded in the previous session.

K-Electric Limited was the volume leader with 23.65 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 17.10 million shares, and Faysal Bank Limited with 10.14 million shares.

Shares of 339 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 135 registered an increase, 181 recorded a fall, and 23 remained unchanged.