The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) commenced the first trading session of the month on a volatile note, as the benchmark KSE-100 index fell 0.19%, while both volume and value of shares traded registered a significant drop.
The KSE-100 index opened on a positive note and hit an intra-day high of 40,378.51, up by 228 points, as news flow regarding the arrival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) tranche of $1.2 billion in the prevailing week supported market sentiment to some extent.
However, CPI inflation figure of 24.93% for the month of July brought some negativity as some selling pressure was seen, pushing the KSE-100 lower.
At close, the KSE-100 settled 74.40 points or 0.19% lower to settle at 40,075.96.
KSE-100 snaps winning streak, falls 0.31%
A report from Capital Stake said the news of State Bank of Pakistan and Finance Ministry issuing a joint statement, stating that Pakistan’s financing needs will be more than fully met in FY23 provided some relief to investors, however, the optimism was short-lived.
Inflation in Pakistan hits 24.9% in July, a 14-year high
On the corporate front, OneLoad, a Pakistani fintech owned and operated by EP Systems, a subsidiary of Systems Limited, secured $11 million in funding, read a filing to the PSX.
Moreover, Pakistan's rupee sustained its momentum on Monday, recovering marginally by Re0.53 or 0.22% higher at Rs238.84 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, sectors dragging the benchmark KSE 100 index lower included fertilizer (55.63 points), banking (31.60 points) and insurance (12.04 points).
Volume on the all-share index fell to 110.42 million from 170.27 million on Friday. Similarly, the value of shares traded declined to Rs3.72 billion from Rs6.31 billion recorded in the previous session.
TPL Properties was the volume leader with 12.73 million shares, followed by TRG Pak Limited with 9.21 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 8.63 million shares.
Shares of 309 companies were traded on Monday, of which 101 registered an increase, 182 recorded a fall, and 26 remained unchanged.