KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday started well and remained in the green for the majority of the session, but profit-taking toward the end of trading caused the market to conclude in the red.
Before finishing at 42,155.48 points, down 56.16 points or 0.13 percent, the benchmark KSE-100 Index reached an intraday high of 42,411.58 points and an intraday low of 42,053.81 points. The ready counter’s total daily volume increased to 304.838 million shares from 240.194 million shares traded on Monday, indicating a further improvement in trading activity. However, the ready counter’s total daily traded value decreased to Rs 9.845 billion from Rs 10.533 billion in the previous session.
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BRIndex100 closed at 4,247.27 points, down 10.39 points, or 0.24 percent, with a daily share volume of 288.050 million. BRIndex30 dropped by 230.87 points, or 1.38 percent, to conclude at 16,451.90 points, with 246.163 million shares moving overall throughout the day. While Nestle Pakistan and Bata Pak were the top losers, decreasing by Rs 70.00 and Rs 63.56, respectively, to end at Rs 5,780.00 and Rs 2,234.88, Sapphire Textile and Reliance Cotton were the top gainers, climbing by Rs 59.00 and Rs 27.00 each to close at Rs 1,064.00 and Rs 558.00.
According to an analyst at Topline Securities, Pakistani stocks slightly declined, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index ending the day at 42,155, down 0.13 percent. The day began well, thanks to Monday’s SBP analyst briefing, which revealed that the government will receive $4.0 billion. This news caused the market to reach an intraday high of 199 points. This optimism did not last, though, as TRG had an initial dip as the stock struck its lower limit throughout the trading session.
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With a total share volume of 594,809, the BR Automobile Assembler Index decreased by 29.82 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 9,068.03 points. On 13.559 million shares, the BR Cement Index fell 46.31 points, or 0.99 percent, to settle at 4,649.00 points. With 6.378 million shares, the BR Commercial Banks Index increased 15.12 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 8,217.13 points. With 12.602 million shares, the BR Power Generation and Distribution Index gained 36.88 points, or 0.58 percent, to close at 6,425.35 points. With 9.885 million shares, the BR Oil and Gas Index dipped 8.14 points, or 0.22 percent, to settle at 3,702.54 points.
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With 64.080 million shares, the BR Tech. & Comm. Index fell 131.53 points, or 2.84 percent, to close at 4,501.64 points. The PSX experienced a rangebound session, according to an analyst at Arif Habib Limited, as investors opted to book profits. The benchmark KSE-100 Index opened in the positive territory but was unable to maintain the momentum due to low participation, which caused the index to close in the negative territory. While the volume on the main board remained healthy, heavy volumes were seen on the third-tier stocks. Technology (down 112.1 points), Cement (down 28.0 points), E&P (down 7.3 points), Vanaspati & Allied Industries (down 6.5 points), and Textile Composite are among the sectors that have contributed to the performance (down 6.5 points).
