A roller-coaster ride was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday where the benchmark KSE-100 index posted a U-shaped recovery, plunging by 590 points in the first half before erasing all losses to end with a marginal gain.

Lack of positive triggers and plunge in rupee value to an all-time low of 191.77 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market made the benchmark index trade on both sides of the fence.

Following a brief upward open, the KSE-100 index began its descent in the initial hour and plummeted till mid-day as investors rushed to offload their holdings. Shortly after noon, market participants resorted to cherry-picking stocks at attractive valuations.

Late buying helps KSE-100, but index still closes 641 points lower

At close on Thursday, the KSE-100 ended with a gain of 35.29 points, up 0.08%, to finish at 42,898.44. The index has been under pressure for weeks now, with rupee's downward movement contributing to the bearish sentiment.

A report from Capital Stake stated volatility continued to hit the Pakistan stock market.

“Indices swayed both ways in search of a direction until finally settling flat,” it said.

Sectors driving the benchmark KSE-100 index upward included cement (39.24 points), chemical (19.77 points) and pharmaceutical (17.10 points).

Volume on the all-share index dived to 284.5 million from 338.54 million on Wednesday. The value of shares traded fell to Rs7.8 billion from Rs9.53 billion recorded in the previous session.

Pakistan Stock Exchange: NIT MD lists reasons behind a bumpy ride

Treet Corporation was the volume leader with 27.63 million shares, followed by TPL Properties with 18.9 million shares, and Telecard Limited with 16.86 million shares.

Shares of 336 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 180 registered an increase, 137 recorded a fall, and 19 remained unchanged.