Amid lack of triggers, KSE-100 loses over 400 points, closes below 48,000

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)‘s benchmark KSE-100 Index closed lower by over 400 points on Thursday, as investors opted to remain on the sidelines amid no progress on the government’s circular debt plan.

On Thursday, the KSE-100 started on a positive note to hit an intra-day high of 48,622.91, but across the board sell-off erased the gains.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 47,808.34, lower by 419.26 points or 0.87%.

“The aforesaid selling spree could likely be attributed to no official confirmation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or Ministry of Finance, as of yet, with regards to news regarding the approval of Circular Debt Management Plan,” brokerage house Topline Securities said.

On Wednesday, the KSE-100 witnessed a buying spree amid unconfirmed reports that the oil and gas sector’s circular debt was on the radar of authorities, and would be resolved.

Capital Stake in its daily market report said the market slipped into the red zone after short-term gains on Thursday.

“Indices swung in both directions while volumes inched up from last close. As per analysts, investors opted to stay on the sidelines post the dissolution of assemblies,” it said.

Sectors driving the benchmark KSE 100 index south included oil and gas exploration (124.22pts), banking (123.41pts), and power generation and distribution (76.99pts).

Company-wise, OGDC, HUBC, and PPL were top negative contributors.

The banking sector lost 1.12% in its cumulative market capitalisation, according to the brokerage house.

On the economic front, inflow of overseas workers’ remittances registered a decline to clock in at $2.03 billion in July 2023, a decrease of 7.3% on a month-on-month basis when compared to $2.2 billion in June 2023, showed data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Thursday.

The Pakistani rupee saw a marginal decline against the US dollar with a depreciation of 0.05% in the inter-bank market. At close, the currency settled at 287.60, a decrease of Re0.14, as per the central bank.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 322.2 million from 312.3 million on Wednesday.

However, the value of shares traded decreased to Rs12.7 billion from Rs14.3 billion in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 41.5 million shares, followed by Bank Al-Falah with 23.2 million shares and Oil & Gas Dev. with 22 million shares.

Shares of 332 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 105 registered an increase, 209 recorded a fall, and 18 remained unchanged.