KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) endured a volatile session on Friday, with the indices swaying both ways in search of a direction before finally ending in the red.
Equity markets around the world showed also showed a negative pattern; whereas crude oil prices slipped lower from the previous close; WTI crude price declining 1.89pc to $62.33 while Brent crude price falling 1.71pc to $65.00 (as at 4:48pm PST).
“Market activity remained subdued today, with FATF’s decision to maintain status quo for Pakistan till June 2021 receiving a lukewarm response from investors. Profit booking was witnessed almost across the board, particularly technology, cement, textile and oil & gas marketing sectors,” a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd read.
MARKET SUMMARY
The benchmark KSE-100 Index moved in a narrow range on Friday, touching its intraday high at 46,239.89 (+274.26 points) and low at 45,753.07 (-212.56 points). It settled lower by 100.61 points at 45,865.02.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index dropped 113.36 points to close at 76,278.37, while the KSE All Share Index declined 211.72 points, ending at 31,436.15.
The overall market volumes improved from 468.94 million shares in the previous session to 479.75 million shares (+2pc). Average traded value also increased by 11pc, from $147.1 million to $162.8 million. Unity Foods Ltd (UNTIY -4.76pc), Telecard Ltd (TELE +0.38pc) and TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG -2.86pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 45.31 million, 36.65 million and 33.15 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that dragged the benchmark index lower included oil & gas exploration (-56.30 points), technology & communication (-33.02 points) and chemical (-30.83 points). Among the companies, Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDC -53.72 points), TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG -44.82 points) and Colgate-Palmolive (Pakistan) Ltd (COLG -29.86 points) dented the index the most.
Shedding 1.63pc from its cumulative market capitalization, the tech & communication sector ended as the session’s worst performer, with Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTC -1.55pc), Avanceon Ltd (AVN -5.02pc) and Hum Network Ltd (HUMNL -5.17pc) ending in the negative.
