The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its losses as the benchmark KSE-100 Index decreased another 441 points in the last session of the week with investors opting for profit-taking. However, volume and value of shares traded improved on a day-to-day basis.

At close, the KSE-100 index finished with a fall of 441.06 points or 1.02% to end at 42,591.51. On a weekly basis, the benchmark index lost 1.57%.

KSE-100 extends losses, closes near 43,000

The first-half consisted of dull activity despite opening in the green zone. However, in the second session of the day, investors opted for profit taking, which hammered the index to close in the red zone, said Arif Habib Limited (AHL) in a note.

Index-heavy sectors including automobile, cement, banks, power generation and oil closed with losses.

A report from Capital Stake stated that the PSX witnessed a bearish session on Friday. “The news of Saudi Arabia investing $1 billion in Pakistan to support the country’s economy failed to cheer investors,” it said.

On the economic front, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail stated on Friday that through its $3-billion investment, Qatar was interested in leasing Pakistan’s airports, setting up fuel terminals at seaports, acquiring LNG plants, and investing in solar parks.

The minister said that with investments from Qatar and Saudi Arabia locked in, Pakistan has met the $4-billion external financing gap.

Meanwhile, in the inter-bank market, the rupee lost Rs1.25 or 0.57% against the US dollar to settle Rs220.66.

On the corporate front, Pakistan State Oil (PSO) reported a 223.85% spike in its profit, which clocked in at Rs95.7 billion during the year ended June 30, 2022 owing to higher volumetric sales, huge inventory gains and higher other income.

Sectors pushing the benchmark index downwards included banking (85.51 points), technology & communication (63.99 points) and oil & gas marketing (61.06 points).

Volume on the all-share index increased to 265.7 million from 208.1 million on Thursday. On the other hand, the value of shares traded inched up to Rs9.03 billion from Rs7.78 billion recorded in the previous session.

K-Electric Limited was the volume leader with 50.6 million shares, followed by Pak Refinery with 16.8 million shares and Pak Elektron with 13.1 million shares.

Shares of 331 companies were traded on Friday, of which 90 registered an increase, 218 recorded a fall, and 23 remained unchanged.