The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) recorded a volatile session on Wednesday and the KSE-100 Index oscillated between red and green zones before closing nearly flat.
Trading began with a spike but volatility made the market fluctuate in a narrow range until close.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 56,680.07, slightly up by 14.14 or 0.02%.
“Market witnessed another volatile session today marked by decent profit-taking,” brokerage house Ismail Iqbal Securities stated in its post-market report.
Oil and gas exploration companies, oil and gas marketing companies, and chemical sectors were major contributors during the session, it added. “Commercial banks, power, and cement sectors traded in the red zone.”
On Tuesday, the KSE-100 had eked out gain of 142 points despite profit-taking witnessed during the session.
In a relatable development, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said she expects a deal on the ongoing first review of Stand-By-Arrangement (SBA) ‘within this week’.
“I expect an agreement on the review to come within this week,” said Georgieva in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s Haslinda Amin on Wednesday.
The remarks come as an IMF mission, led by Nathan Porter, is visiting Pakistan for the first review of the SBA.
The South Asian nation is operating under a caretaker government after an IMF loan programme, approved in July, helped avert a sovereign debt default. Under the $3 billion SBA, Pakistan received $1.2 billion from the IMF as the first tranche in July.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee maintained its downward trajectory for the 17th consecutive session against the US dollar, as it depreciated 0.09% in the inter-bank market on Wednesday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan, the currency settled at 288.14, a decrease of Re0.27.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 661.6 million from 526.3 million a session before.
The value of shares rose to Rs24.3 billion from Rs19.5 billion in the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 70.2 million shares, followed by Pak Refinery with 37.1 million shares and Sui North Gas with 22.4 million shares.
Shares of 360 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 196 registered an increase, 147 recorded a fall, while 17 remained unchanged.
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