KSE-100 falls below 42,000 as flood damages play on investors’ mind

The selling spell continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday and the KSE-100 index extended losses for a second session as investor sentiment took a hit from soaring inflation and flood damages.

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has estimated that actual damage caused by floods would amount to around $10 billion.

As a result, the KSE-100 index fell 449.81 points or 1.06% to close at 41,859.3 points

On Monday, Miftah also announced that the government has started diverting funds from budget allocations to provide relief to flood-affected people in the country.

KSE-100 falls 0.36% as investors panic over high inflation reading

After opening on a positive note, selling pressure shrouded the KSE-100 index as investors resorted to offloading their holdings. The market fell steadily throughout the session and closed below the psychological level of 42,000 points.

Index-heavy automobile, cement, banks, fertiliser and oil sectors closed with massive losses.

A report from Capital Stake stated that bears took charge of the PSX on Monday with the benchmark KSE-100 index falling below 42,000.

Indices slipped lower and lower for most part of the day, while volumes fell from last close. The downward trend was attributed to uncertain economic situation caused by floods, it said.

A report from Topline Securities cited that Pakistan equities closed negative where benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at 41,859 (down 1.06%).

“Lacklustre trading session was witnessed at the bourse amid low volumes due to rising inflation and concerns overs estimated loss $10 billion as per Federal Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail,” It said.

On the economic front, domestic cement sales fell 23.88% on year-on-year basis in August 2022 while exports declined by 25.72% from same period last year.

Meanwhile, rupee depreciated 0.4% or Re0.88 on Monday to close at 219.86 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market.

Pakistan’s rupee depreciates 0.4% against US dollar

Sectors driving the benchmark KSE-100 south included banking (68.28 points), technology and communication (67.31 points) and cement (50.96 points).

Volume on the all-share index receded to 156.8 million from 160.1 million on Friday. On the other hand, the value of shares traded inched lower to Rs4.37 billion from Rs4.63 billion recorded in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 14.8 million shares, followed by Pak Refinery with 12.79 million shares and Hascol with 12.77 million shares.

Shares of 340 companies were traded on Monday, of which 68 registered an increase, 253 recorded a fall, and 19 remained unchanged.