Bearish sentiment prevailed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the benchmark KSE-100 ended with a loss of nearly 160 points on Wednesday amid higher volume that was dominated by WorldCall Telecom.
After witnessing an upward momentum in the initial stages, the benchmark index slipped lower throughout the trading session.
“Despite positive developments on the economic front, profit-taking drove the market south,” said brokerage house Capital Stake.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 72,601.82, a decrease of 159.38 points or 0.22%.
Selling pressure was witnessed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, OMCs and refinery, while index-heavy stocks including, SNGPL, SSGC, SHEL and PSO settled in the red.
On Tuesday, volatility was also witnessed at the PSX as the benchmark index settled on a flat note amid profit-taking towards the end of the session.
Internationally, Asian stocks lacked direction on Wednesday, while the dollar remained firm despite lower US Treasury yields as markets assessed mixed signals from US policymakers and economic data on the path for Federal Reserve interest rates.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid 0.19%, weighed down partly by declines from mainland Chinese blue chips. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.52%.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee remained largely stable, appreciating 0.01% against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday. At close, the local unit settled at 278.10, a gain of Re0.02 against the greenback, as per the State Bank of Pakistan.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 970.32 million from 621.83 million a session ago.
However, the value of shares slightly decreased to Rs23.51 billion from Rs24.97 billion in the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 407.88 million shares, followed by K-Electric Limited with 68.03 million shares, and Hum Network with 56.11 million shares.
Shares of 388 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 149 registered an increase, 208 recorded a fall, while 31 remained unchanged.
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