Unable to sustain 48,000, KSE-100 falls 284 points

A day after the KSE-100 Index managed to close over the 48,000 level after almost six weeks, investors opted to book profits with a tense geopolitical situation and faltering rupee value enough to put the investors at unease on Tuesday.

At close, the KSE-100 Index finished with a decrease of 283.50 points or 0.59% to finish at 47,828.71. The KSE-100 has found major resistance at the 48,000-point level, staying range-bound for almost six weeks before Monday's session took the index over the barrier.

However, it took just one session for KSE-100 to fall back into familiar territory. On Tuesday, the index lost as much as 372.68 points in intra-day trading before finally settling over the 47,800 level.

“Geopolitical concerns resurfaced as the Taliban warned that there would be consequences if the United States and its allies try to remain in Afghanistan beyond next week. Moreover, the dollar also continued its upward trajectory and traded above Rs165,” said Topline Securities in its post=market comment.

"Company-wise, Pakistan State Oil announced financial results of 4QFY21. It announced an EPS at Rs23.2 with DPS of Rs10.0. Whereas, Engro Corporation announced its 2Q2021 results with an EPS of Rs15.13, up 52% YoY."

KSE-100 gains over 500 points, finishes above 48,000 after more than 6 weeks

However, shares of both companies ended lower.

Sectors dragging down the benchmark KSE-100 included banking (63.97 points), cement (62.48 points) and fertiliser (59.32 points).

Volume on the all-share index fell marginally from 397.69 million on Monday to 394.95 million on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the value of shares traded during the session declined to Rs13.67 billion, from Rs14.85 billion on Monday.

WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 43.69 million shares, followed by Telecard Limited with 30.99 million shares, and Ghani Global Holding at 25.68 million shares.

Shares of 483 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 171 registered an increase, 297 recorded a fall, while 15 remained unchanged.