KSE-100 closes marginally upward in lacklustre session

Investor sentiment remained mixed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday as the KSE-100 Index endured another lacklustre session to end with marginal gain.

Volatility shrouded the market owing to a mixture of upside and downside pressures.

By the end of the session, the KSE-100 Index rose 83.81 points or 0.2% to close at 41,839.26.

KSE-100 falls 0.46% led by low investor participation

Trading began with a spike and the market hit intra-day high level in initial minutes. Selling pressure gripped the equity market at this point and it began its descent. The KSE-100 Index remained flat in the second half of the day to close with marginal gain.

Automobile and cement sectors closed with gains however chemical, banks, oil and fertiliser spaces closed mixed.

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that another range-bound session was witnessed at the PSX.

“The market traded in the positive zone, despite the lackluster activity that was observed throughout the trading session due to political instability,” it said. “Investors’ participation remained sluggish as volumes continued to fall, on the contrary, decent activity was recorded in the third tier stocks.”

A report from Capital Stake stated that the PSX ended a dull session on Tuesday marginally positive.

“Indices traded in green all day long while volumes appreciated from previous close,” it said. “Investors adopted a cautious approach due to the uncertainty on political and economic front.”

On economic front, rupee depreciated Rs0.82 or 0.37% against the US dollar ending the session at Rs219.7.

Sectors driving the benchmark KSE-100 index in north included technology and communication (24.57 points), investment banking (15.23 points), and fertiliser (11.26 points).

Volume on the all-share index rose to 190.3 million from 144.3 million on Monday. Similarly, the value of shares traded nosedived to Rs5.8 billion from Rs4.7 billion recorded in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 29.9 million shares, followed by First National Equities with 11.7 million shares and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines XD with 8.4 million shares

Shares of 350 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 175 registered an increase, 163 recorded a fall, and 12 remained unchanged.