The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile session on Tuesday and the KSE-100 Index closed marginally upward after trading on both sides of the spectrum.
A lack of developments surrounding resumption of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme kept investors at bay.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 40,653.03, a rise of 31.81 points or 0.08%.
KSE-100 plunges nearly 700 points due to IMF uncertainty
Trading began upward but a selloff gripped the market and it traded in red for most part of the day. A buying spree towards the end of the session helped it close with a gain.
Index-heavy automobile, cement, chemical and banking sectors turned red while oil and fertiliser spaces closed in green.
A report from Capital Stake stated that PSX ended a rocky session on Tuesday flat.
“Indices traded within a narrow range while volumes depreciated from last close,” it said.
A report from Arif Habib Limited cited that range-bound session was recorded at the PSX.
“The market opened in the green but traded in both directions due to the impending negotiation between the government and IMF for the 9th review of the Extended Fund Facility,” it said. “Investor choose to remain invested in the E&P sector that helped market to close in the positive zone.”
Overall market activity remained sideways owing to the economic situation of the country, it said adding that volumes remained dull while the third tier equities led the volume board.
On the economic front, Pakistan rupee settled at 287.22 against the US dollar after an improvement of Re0.04 or 0.01% in the inter-bank market.
Sectors lifting the benchmark KSE-100 Index higher included, oil and gas exploration (61.23 points), oil and gas marketing (28.53 points) and technology and communication (20.32 points).
Volume on the all-share index fell to 124.9 million from 179.8 million on Monday, while the value of shares traded dropped to Rs4 billion from Rs5.6 billion recorded in the previous session.
K-Electric was the volume leader with 9.9 million shares followed by WorldCall Telecom with 7 million shares and Hascol with 6.7 million shares.
Shares of 311 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 106 registered an increase, 179 recorded a fall and 26 remained unchanged.