The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday went through a range-bound session as it closed at a loss of 13 points owing to a lack of positive triggers that prevented investors from indulging in fresh buying.
The market saw bulls competing with bears leading to a meager loss towards the close of the session.
Investor sentiment dampened owing to a lack of positive triggers who were on the lookout for a development that could aid with the market’s direction.
The benchmark KSE-100 index kicked off trading on a bearish note, falling nearly 200 points, however, it failed to sustain the trend and the market rebounded. Selling pressure took over in the mid-day and dragged the index lower, wiping out the day’s gains.
Sentiment remained mixed as investors worried over the dismal economic situation.
The benchmark index KSE-100 shed 12.89 points, or 0.03%, towards closing and settled at 45,736.26 points.
According to a report from Topline Securities Pakistan, equities started the week with dull activity as the market remained wandering through the trading hours in the wake of the low volumes.
The report added, “The market opened on a slight bearish note, touched an intra-day low of 45,545 (down 204 points or -0.45%) on the back of 28-week high weekly inflation (based on SPI) numbers, lower remittances numbers on a monthly basis and upward revision in Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) by the central bank over the weekend”.
Indices drifted in a directionless way; the benchmark KSE-100 index lost 204.16 points recording an intraday low of 45,544.99 during initial hours of trade. Recovering from the losses, the index jumped to an intraday high of 45,910.96, a gain of 161.81 points.
However, it failed to maintain the gains that were made earlier in the day. The KSE-100 Index settled flat, lower by 12.89 points or 0.03% at 45,736.26.
Capital Stake said in its post-market comment, “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.
Furthermore, inflows of workers’ remittances have surpassed the $10 billion mark during the initial four months of this fiscal year (FY22).
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Sunday disclosed 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 said that he is expecting good news from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pertaining to the release of the loan program.
During the trading session, shares of 345 listed companies were traded. Towards the closing of the session, 125 stocks closed in the green, 191 in the red, and 29 remained unchanged.
Overall trading volumes fell to 172.8 million shares compared to Friday’s tally of 192.5 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.13 billion.
Hascol Petroleum led the volume chart with 18.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.64 to close at Rs6.53. Ghani Global Holdings came in second with 17.8 million shares, gaining Rs1.06 to close at Rs34.15, and WorldCall Telecom followed with 11.22 million shares, gaining Rs0.05 to close at Rs2.39.
