KARACHI: Bears kept a tight grip on the Pakistan Stock Exchanged (PSX) on Monday, as the indices, which opened on a positive note, soon their lost their ground and bled for the entire session.
Foreign Investors turned out as net sellers for the outgoing week (October 14–18) with a net outflow of $2.13 million.
On the economic front, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan to address its longstanding issues through structural reforms and improve its institutions through a stringent legal framework, as that would make the economy more competitive.
Meanwhile, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr Reza Baqir, while addressing an international forum, said that the primary reason behind troublesome economy was the current account deficit, which jumped from less than $500 million in 2016 to $1.5-$2 billion per month by mid-2017 owing to a fixed exchange rate.
He, however, stated that the incumbent government’s adjusted exchange rate has helped reduce CAD to $260 million.
Gaining 15.32 points, the KSE-100 Index marked its intraday high at 33,885.47 minutes after the commencement of the session. The index then tripped, sliding down by 795.29 points to record its intraday low at 33,074.86. It ended lower by 785.42 points at 33,084.73. The KMI-30 Index declined by 1,314.83 points to end at 53,274.64 points, while the KSE All Share Index fell by 469.32 points, closing at 23,984.51.
Out of the total scripts traded in the 100-index, 82 declined while only 7 scripts managed to register gains, cumulatively contributing 25.44 points to the index. The commercial bank sector (-226.57 points), oil and gas exploration sector (-106.50 points) and cement sector (-91.36 points) dented the index the most.
The Bank of Punjab (BOP -6.84pv) announced an earnings per share of Rs0.82 for the third quarter of FY19 (Rs0.63 in 3QFY18), Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL -4.88pc) declared an EPS of Rs0.21 for the first quarter of FY20 (Rs0.58 in 1QFY19) while Sitara Peroxide (SPL -5.85pc) posted an EPS of Rs0.10 for 3QFY19 (Rs2.54 in 3QFY18).
