KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday witnessed massive selling pressure as the benchmark KSE-100 fell 680 points amid concerns over the International Monetary Fund’s delayed bailout program.
By the end of the session, the benchmark index was at 40,621.22 mark, a decline of 680.08 points or 1.65%.
The sell-off was a stark contrast to earlier quiet trading at the PSX, which spent the majority of the session in a range.
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In the closing hours, index-heavy industries like the car, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, fertilizers, oil & gas exploration businesses, and OMCs all saw widespread selling.
Sectors painting the benchmark KSE-100 index in red included oil and gas exploration (140.43 points), technology and communication (102.31 points) and banking (98.17 points).
Volume on the all-share index rose to 179.8 million from 156 million on Friday, while the value of shares traded surged to Rs5.6 billion from Rs3.8 billion recorded in the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 27.7 million shares followed by K-Electric with 11.4 million shares and Cnergyico PK with 9.3 million shares.
Shares of 320 companies were traded on Monday, of which 54 registered an increase, 244 recorded a fall and 22 remained unchanged.