The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a mixed session on Wednesday and the KSE-100 Index rose 0.13% owing to a mixture of upside and downside pressures.

Political instability kept investors mostly on the sidelines with volume on the all-share index remaining subdued.

At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 40,499.34, an increase of 51.29 points or 0.13%.

Late session rally props KSE-100 Index upward

Trading began with a decline but the market recouped losses in initial hours. From this point onward, the market traded in a narrow range to close with a meagre gain.

Index-heavy cement, chemical, banking and oil spaces closed in green while automobile sector saw massive losses. Fertiliser segment closed mixed.

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that the PSX witnessed a mixed trading session.

“The benchmark KSE-100 opened in the red territory but traded both directions, as investors chose to be vigilant due to the ongoing political uncertainty,” it said. “Investors’ involvement remained sluggish throughout the day, as volumes in the mainboard dried up while 3rd tier stocks continued to dominate the volume board.”

A report from Capital Stake cited that the PSX ended a volatile session on Wednesday flat. Indices swayed in both directions, while volumes appreciated from last close, it said.

Sectors lifting the benchmark KSE-100 index higher included fertiliser (68.29 points), oil and gas exploration (25.66 points) and chemical (18.34 points).

Volume on the all-share index jumped to 84.2 million from 67.5 million on Tuesday while the value of shares traded increased to Rs3.63 billion from Rs2.28 billion recorded in the previous session.

Silk Bank was the volume leader with 6.4 million shares followed by WorldCall Telecom with 5.1 million shares and Engro Corp with 4.3 million shares.

Shares of 291 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 165 registered an increase, 104 recorded a fall and 22 remained unchanged.