KARACHI: Pakistan’s stock market has tumbled to its lowest level since December 2020 as the government decided not to increase fuel prices.
The benchmark KSE-100 index nosedived 819 points, starting the week on a negative note. The bourse plunged over 1,000 points as soon as trading resumed on Monday morning due to the selling pressure over the government’s inaction on economic decisions.
The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 42,667 points level, after shedding 819 points or 1.9%. The index remained negative throughout the session touching an intraday low of 42,373.14
Investors panicked over the constant depreciation of PKR against USD, as the local currency settled traded at 194.20 against the greenback in intrabank trade.
Of the 93 traded companies in the KSE100 Index 9 closed up 81 closed down, while 3 remained unchanged. Total volume traded for the index was 135.50 million shares.
Sector-wise, the index was let down by Commercial Banks with 172 points, Cement with 125 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 110 points, Technology & Communication with 108 points and Fertilizer with 68 points. Sectors propping up the index were Chemical with 59 points, Paper & Board with 5 points and Vanaspati & Allied Industries with one point.
All Share Volume increased by 42.33 mllion to 250.45 million Shares. Market capitalisation decreased by Rs.123.18 Billion. The total companies traded were 340 compared to 343 from the previous session. Of the scrips traded 63 closed up, 263 closed down while 14 remained unchanged.
Earlier, the session commenced with a steep decline as the KSE-100 index nosedived to an intra-day low of 42,375 points during the initial hour of trading. The market failed to find any positive triggers throughout the day, and it settled above the psychological barrier of 42,000 points.
