KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) failed to sustain gains accumulated in early trade on Wednesday, as political uncertainty amid corona crisis and border skirmishes between China and India cumulatively dented the investor sentiment.
Foreign investors remained net sellers in the last session (Tuesday), registering a net outflow of $1.57 million.
“The benchmark KSE-100 Index opened the session on a positive note, recording its intraday high at 34,396.38 after gaining 377 points, but BNP Mengal’s decision to leave the PTI coalition government caused jitters in the market,” said a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd. “As a result, the index lost all gains made during the session and closed lower by 170 points at 33,848.68.”Â
Meanwhile, among other indices, the KMI-30 Index dropped 215.82 points to end at 53,882.23, while the KSE All Share Index lost 34.35 points, closing at 24,339.00. Of the total traded shares, 130 advanced and 191 declined.
The overall volumes surged from 217.92 million shares in the previous session to 340.65 million shares. Average traded value also increased by 55pc, from $39.4 million to $61 million. Unity Foods Limited (UNITY -7.30pc), Jahanghir Siddiqui & Company Limited (JSCL -1.05pc) and Pakistan Refinery Limited Right Shares (PRLR1 -7.94pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 43.91 million, 28.95 million and 13.80 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that drove the KSE-100 Index south included banking (-76.01 points), cement (-50 points) and fertilizer (-41.71 points). Among the companies, MCB Bank Limited (MCB -42.20 points), Engro Corporation Limited (ENGRO -26.03 points) and United Bank Limited (UBL -24.64 points) dented the index the most.
Shedding 1.52pc from its cumulative market capitalization, the cement sector turned out to be the biggest loser of the day, with DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC -2.85pc), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF -2.96pc) and Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK -1.09pc) closing in the red.
