KSE-100 falls in range-bound trading session

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a range-bound trading session on Thursday as the KSE-100 Index traded in a narrow range to close with loss.

Weakening macroeconomic cues and rising political noise played on minds of investors and volumes remained thin.

At close, the KSE-100 Index was down 87.65 points or 0.21% to settle at 41,029.67.

KSE-100 ends flat owing to late session selling

Trading began downward and the market fell steadily for most part of the day. Cherry picking in final hour eroded few of the losses.

Automobile, chemical and banking sectors closed with a loss while oil and cement space ended the day on a mixed note.

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that a mixed session was recorded at the PSX.

“The benchmark KSE-100 index opened in the green, but due to the rupee-dollar parity, the market had volatile activity and ended the day in the red,” it said. “Investors are assuming a cautious attitude to the rumors about new taxes in the forthcoming budget.”

Volumes remained decent across the board as third-tier equities continued to dominate, it said.

A report from Capital Stake highlighted that investors at PSX endured another volatile session on Thursday.

“Indices oscillated between both zones until finally closing flat, while volumes appreciated from last close,” it said. “The market’s poor performance is attributed to the ongoing fragile political situation.”

Sectors painting the benchmark KSE-100 index in red included technology and communication (114.48 points), banking (29.91 points) and textile composite (21.43 points).

Volume on the all-share index inched up to 125.3 million from 105.6 million on Wednesday, while the value of shares traded rose to Rs4.1 billion from Rs2.6 billion recorded in the previous session.

Gul Ahmed was the volume leader with 10.7 million shares followed by Pak Refinery with 8.4 million shares and WorldCall Telecom with 8.1 million shares.

Shares of 324 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 110 registered an increase, 184 recorded a fall and 25 remained unchanged.