KSE-100 falls 0.11% ahead of monetary policy announcement

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) reversed its trend on Wednesday and the KSE-100 Index shed 0.11% as investors remained cautious ahead of the announcement of the monetary policy.

Volumes contracted from previous session.

By the end of the day, the KSE-100 Index closed with a loss of 48.32 points or 0.11% at 42,880.31.

KSE-100 rises 0.39% owing to revival of sentiment

Trading began with a jump and the KSE-100 index reported gains until noon. The market dipped at this point and erased all gains. An attempt made to lift the market upward proved futile and the KSE-100 Index closed in the red.

Index heavy chemical, cement, banking and fertiliser spaces closed with losses while automobile sector closed mixed. Oil segment closed on a positive note.

A report from Capital Stake stated that investors of the PSX endured a roller coaster ride on Wednesday.

“Indices oscillated in both directions, while volumes contracted from last close,” it said. “Investors adopted cautious approach ahead of the State Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee’s meeting on Friday.”

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

“The market opened in positive zone but lack of investors’ participation plunged the index down into the red and continued to trade in the same zone for most of the trading session,” it said. “Market participation was comparatively lower than the previous session as volumes remained dry in the main board however, decent volumes were recorded in the third tier stocks.”

On the economic front, rupee reverted to its losing way as the currency registered a depreciation of Re0.39 or 0.17% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday to close at 223.81.

Sectors dragging the benchmark KSE-100 index lower included power generation and distribution sector (65.80 points), banking sector (19.86 points) and miscellaneous sector (18.50 points).

Volume on the all-share index dipped to 138.6 million from 196 million on Tuesday. The value of shares traded shrank to Rs5.1 billion from Rs6.8 billion recorded in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 16.5 million shares, followed by TPL Properties with 13.1 million shares and HUBCO with 12.5 million shares

Shares of 356 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 144 registered an increase, 191 recorded a fall, and 21 remained unchanged.