As the anticipation of stringent measures by the government to curb the COVID-19 pandemic’s spread amid a rising in the number of cases rattled investor sentiment. The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a bloodbath on the first trading session of the week.

The indices slipped lower from the start of the day, as the benchmark KSE 100 index lost 1,206.20 pts to an intraday low of 44,315.43. It ended with a loss of 1,089.83 pts at 44,431.80 below the 45,000 mark.

Whereas, the KMI 30 index depreciated by 1,808.38 pts closing at 72,593.05. While the KSE All Share index fell short by 740.62 pts settling at 30,314.27.

On Monday, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has announced that the government is imposing a complete ban on wedding ceremonies, both indoor and outdoor across the province from April 1 in wake of a drastic surge in COVID-19 cases.

Meanwhile, the overall market participation contracted from 529.07mn shares on Friday to 523.79mn shares. Shares worth Rs 23.51 billion were traded on Monday. Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (BYCO -7.89%), Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL -7.26%), and Azgard Nine Limited (ANL -0.05%) led the volume chart with 80.25mn shares, 48.96mn shares, and 45.63mn shares traded, respectively.

Sectors painting the benchmark KSE 100 index in red included the banking sector (190.65 pts), cement sector (161.89 pts), and technology and communication sector (123.01 pts).

Whereas, company-wise, TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG 134.03 pts), Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK 57.67 pts), and Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO 47.44 pts) were top negative contributors.

The refinery sector (7.43%) ended as the top loser. Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (BYCO 7.89%), Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL 7.26%), Attock Refinery Limited (ATRL 6.88%), and National Refinery Limited (NRL 7.45%) all closed in the red.