(Karachi) The KSE-100 Index, widely considered a benchmark for market performance, declined for the third successive day to close near the 48,100-point level as post-budget and economic growth euphoria subsided at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

The index fell 323.27 points or 0.67% on Thursday to end at 48,157.63. It has now cumulatively shed 1.17% since earlier this week when it began trading at 48,726.

Participants resorted to profit-booking as post-budget sentiment faded and upcoming events including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting on Pakistan came to the fore. The plenary meeting will be held from June 21 to 25, where Pakistan's progress on the implementation of a 27-point action plan would be reviewed.

It took its toll on stock market participants who were happy to book profits, keeping the index under pressure from the start.

Meanwhile, volume on the all-share index amounted to 1.12 billion shares, up from 936 million on Wednesday. The value of shares traded during the session clocked in at Rs19.61 billion,

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 243.18 million shares, followed by Silk Bank Ltd (188.57 million), and K-Electric Ltd (57.44 million).

Shares of 413 companies were traded during the day with 116 registering an increase, while those of 283 declined. Share prices of 14 companies remained unchanged.