KARACHI: It wasn’t the best start to the week for investors at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), as the market came under selling pressure due to lack of clarity regarding financial assistance from China.
To make matters worse, the Pakistani Rupee depreciated against the US Dollar by around 0.50 per cent (around 70 paisas) during early hours of trade. Another news that dented the market’s sentiment was regarding last week’s core inflation rate, which surged up further to a four-year high of 8.20 per cent in October 2018.
The KSE 100 index plunged over 900 points in intraday trading. It reached an intraday low of 41,033.87 after losing 970.22 points and finally settled lower by 510.13 points at 41,493.96. The KMI 30 index declined by 1.28% (912.67 points) to close at 71,208.64. The KSE All Share index fell short by 403.73 points (-1.34%) to end at 30,059.77.
Trading volumes declined from 292.38 million in the last session to 214.08 million. Volume chart was led by TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG +1.51%) with 20.82 million traded shares, followed by Engro Polymer and Chemicals Limited (EPCL +3.86%) with 18.06 million and The Bank of Punjab (BOP -2.03%) with 12.92 million shares. Out of 338 traded companies, only 96 advanced while 230 declined.
The engineering sector (-3.89%), cement sector (-3.88%), power generation and distribution sector (-3.11%) and tobacco sector (-2.82%) were the top losers of the day. International Steels Limited (ISL -5.00%) touched its lower lock, while Amreli Steels Limited (ASTL) was down by 4.71%. Mughal Iron and Steel Industries Limited (MUGHAL -4.76%) and Aisha Steel Mills Limited (ASL -2.15%) also ended in red.
Cement giant Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK) lost 2.92% from its share price, whereas D G Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC) touched its lower circuit breaker. Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL) was down by 4.77%, Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF) by 5.00% and Bestway Cement Limited by 4.13%.
