KSE-100 retreats 334 points but stays above 57,000 level

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a bearish session on Friday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index closed lower by 334 points amid profit-taking.

Trading at the KSE-100 started on a positive note, which led to an intra-day high of 57,750.93. However, a strong selling spree erased the gains.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 57,063.16, down by 333.87 points or 0.58%.

“Market witnessed profit-taking activity today following six positive sessions in succession,” brokerage house Ismail Iqbal Securities stated in its post-market report.

Power generation and distribution, fertiliser, and cement sectors were the major laggards in today’s session, the brokerage house added.

On Thursday, a bullish momentum was witnessed at the PSX as the KSE-100 Index crossed the 57,000 level for the first time in history. Investors rejoiced after Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) authorities reached a staff-level agreement on the first review for 9-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered back-to-back gains against the US dollar, as it appreciated 0.31% in the inter-bank market on Friday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan, the currency settled at 286.50, an increase of Re0.88.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 901.5 million from 1,056.7 million a session before.

The value of shares declined to Rs23.4 billion from Rs28.8 billion in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 176.7 million shares, followed by K-Electric Ltd with 76.3 million shares and Fauji Foods Ltd with 46.4 million shares.

Shares of 377 companies were traded on Friday, of which 189 registered an increase, 170 recorded a fall, while 18 remained unchanged.