KARACHI: In line with the trends in world markets, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) nosedived on Monday, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index slipped over 1,000 points amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Furthermore, the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US has also caused a hike in global crude oil prices. Brent crude has reached $70 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate has climbed to $64.38 per barrel.
On the economic front, Adviser to Prime Minister of Pakistan on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood claimed that Pakistan’s trade deficit has declined by 31pc in the first six months of FY20. According to him, exports rose 3.21pc in July-December 2019 to $11,540 million while imports declined 17.06pc in the same period to $23,182 million.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index, which opened the session at 41,900.35, stooped to its intraday low at 41,207.16 after losing 1,116.14 points (-2.71pc). It closed lower by 1,027.06 points at 41,296.24. The KMI-30 Index declined by 1,892.86 points or -2.75pc to end at 66,985.53, while the KSE All Share Index lost 628.48 points, settling at 29,145.52. Out of the total traded shares, only 28 advanced while 300 declined.
The overall trading volumes were recorded at 266.63 million. K-Electric Limited (KEL -1.95pc) topped the volume chart, followed by Unity Foods Limited (UNITY -6.03pc) and The Bank of Punjab (BOP -3.12pc). The scripts had exchanged 46.03 million, 17.57 million and 16.87 million shares, respectively.
The oil and gas marketing sector lost -3.66pc from its cumulative market capitalization. Attock Petroleum Limited (APL -2.51pc), Shell Pakistan Limited (SHEL -3.92pc), Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO -3.31pc) and Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL -4.85pc) ended in the red zone.
Sakrand Sugar Mills Limited (SKRS -5.74pc) announced its financial performance for the year ended September 30th, 2019. The company’s sales increased by 8.6pc, whereas its earnings per share declined from Rs6.01 to Rs3.51.
