After a topsy-turvy session, Pakistan Stock Market ended the first day of the week on a flat note, with KSE-100, a benchmark for market performance, dropping by 13 points while volume and value of shares traded declined on Monday.
Indices swayed both ways in search of a direction, losing 204.16 points the KSE 100 index recorded an intraday low of 45,544.99 during initial hours of trade. Recovering the losses, the index jumped to an intraday high of 45,910.96, a gain of 161.81 points.
However, it failed to sustain gains made earlier in the day. The KSE-100 Index settled flat, lower by 12.89 points or 0.03% at 45,736.26.
“As per analysts delay in a positive outcome from the IMF talks regarding resumption of $6 billion Extended Fund Facility for Pakistan kept the investors at bay,” said Capital Stake in its post-market comment.
On the economic front, inflows of workers’ remittances have crossed $10 billion mark during the first four months of this fiscal year (FY22).
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Sunday revealed that on a cumulative basis, home remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis posted 12 percent growth during July-Oct of FY22. Inflows of home remittances rose to $10.6 billion during the first four months of FY22 compared to $9.4 billion in the same period last year, depicting an increase of $1.2 billion.
Whereas, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin in an event in Karachi claimed that he was expecting good news from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the release of the stalled loan programme.
However, he warned that there would be more rise in prices of petroleum products if the international rates go up. He was of the view that the government gave a subsidy on the petrol levy and suffered a loss.
Sectors dragging the benchmark KSE 100 index lower included cement (21.65 points), food and personal care products (19.76 points) and investment banking (14.27 points).
Volume on the all-share index decreased from 192.47 million on Friday to 172.85 million on Monday. The value of shares traded also declined, amounting to Rs5.13 billion from Rs7.66 billion on Friday.
Hascol Petrol was the volume leader with 18.58 million shares, followed by Ghani Global Holdings with 17.84 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 11.22 million shares.
Shares of 345 companies were traded on Monday, of which 125 registered an increase, 191 recorded a fall, and 29 remained unchanged.