KARACHI: The free-fall at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) was under control on Thursday as the stock market rebounded after plummeting earlier in the day.
Trading was suspended for the second consecutive as at the lower bench KSE 300 index saw a steep decline of 7.2 percent and dropped to 12,300 before the trigger was activated. According to PSX rules, trading is halted for 45 minutes if the KSE 30 index drops by four percent or goes directionless.
The KSE 100 index on Thursday closed at 30,129.83 points after a decline of 282.22 points. The stock market dropped below the 29,000 level and reached its lowest level at 28,515.62 points but made a recovery before trading was suspended. The total volume of shares was 238.267 million valued at Rs9.14 billion.
The benchmark KSE 100 index has suffered a battering over the past week losing over 2375 points on Monday, following by 1067 points decline the very next day. On Wednesday, the stock market declined by 2200 points as investors stayed away from the stock market.
This implies that the stock market has lost a staggering 5642 points within this week, making the highest three-day decline since June 1998. Global equity markets have crashed since the past two weeks over the coronavirus which has halted economic activity around the world.
The bourse closed at 36,060 points last Friday but has nosedived over the week. The decline at 28,515 points represented a staggering decline of 29 percent for the years and back to the same level since August 2019.
Meanwhile, the free fall at the lower bench KSE 30 index was under control as it witnessed a minuscule decline of 39.49 points (0.30 percent) and closed at 13,2019.64 points. The total volume of shares at the bourse stood at 134.163 million. The shares prices of several top active stocks remained in the red.
After trading was resumed, the stock market rebounded after improvement in the exploration and production (E&P) sectors and banks, which lifted investor sentiment as they rushed to buy cheap stocks.
ADVERTISEMENT
