PSX fails to sustain gains, KSE 100 index loses 424 points

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday failed to regain control and ended up in the red for the second consecutive day due to lack of economic triggers.

The benchmark KSE 100 index dropped by 424.02 points (-1.26 percent) and closed at 33,304.16 points. The indices dropped by 219 points as trading resumed and eventually reached the peak at 33,238.88 points. The bourse failed to maintain momentum and slipped before trading was suspended. The total volume of shares was Rs128.609 million valued at Rs6.24 billion.

The lower bench KSE 30 index also slipped by 209.79 points (-1.41 percent) and closed at 14,634.38 points. The total volume of shares was 68.764 points. The shares price of several top active stocks declined including HASCOL (-4.85%), MLCF (-2.05%), DGKC (-2.59%), UNITY (-2.52%), FCCL (-0.89%), KEL (-1.04%), PIOC (-0.03%) and WTL (-1.30%), while only CRTM (2.48%) and HBL (1.50%) saw rise in share prices.

This is the second consecutive day in which the stock market has ended in the negative territory. The stock market could sustain the selling pressure as investors dumped stocks. There was a decreased in cement, banking, and the oil exploration sector. The fertilizer industry also saw a decline in share value for the second consecutive day.

Yesterday, the stock market plunged into negative territory due to trade data published by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics which stated that the exports slipped below $1 billion in April. There are concerns that the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) will downgrade Pakistan to a ‘frontier’ market during a review on May 12.