KSE-100 snaps winning streak, falls 0.31%

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday snapped a three-day rally and the KSE-100 receded 0.31% as investors opted to stay on the sidelines in view of deteriorating macroeconomic indicators of the country.

Owing to tepid investor sentiments, the KSE-100 saw a range-bound session with gains in the first half and losses in the final one.

Resultantly, at close, the KSE-100 closed 126.28 points or 0.31% lower to settle at 40,150.36.

Automobile, cement, fertiliser and oil sector stocks witnessed modest selling pressure but the banking space closed mixed with a few scrips recording a rise and others reporting a fall.

A report from Capital Stake stated that “failing to carry forward the positive trend from previous session, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed Friday in red”.

PSX ends on positive note

On a weekly basis, the KSE-100 index gained 0.18% as political noise related to Punjab CM election dominated the news flow and pressure on Pakistan rupee amid payments and ambiguity surrounding external account kept investors on the sidelines.

On the economic front, the State Bank of Pakistan’s reserves decreased by $754 million to $8.575 billion during July 15 to July 22 due to external debt and other payments.

Forex reserves dip by $827m

The country’s total foreign exchange reserves declined by $827 million to $14.415 billion.

Moreover, rupee's 10-session depreciation run finally took a halt, as the local currency registered a marginal improvement of Rs0.5 against the US dollar in the inter-bank to close at 239.37 on Friday.

Rupee ends 10-session depreciation run, closes at 239.37

Sectors driving the benchmark KSE-100 upwards included banking (158.01 points), technology and communication (96.16 points) and oil and gas marketing (61.01 points).

Volume on the all-share index fell to 170.27 million from 251.27 million on Thursday. Similarly, the value of shares traded dropped to Rs6.31 billion from Rs9.35 billion recorded in the previous session.

Unity Foods was the volume leader with 13.9 million shares, followed by Lotte Chemical with 9.97 million shares, and Cnergyico PK with 8.7 million shares.

Shares of 312 companies were traded on Friday, of which 108 registered an increase, 179 recorded a fall, and 25 remained unchanged.