KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) showed no significant gains on Wednesday despite tumbling global crude oil prices which have reached their lowest level in nearly a century.
The benchmark KSE 100 index witnessed a minuscule gain on 41.40 points and closed at 32,464.23 points. The indices dropped by 514.87 points soon after trading opened before gradually gained momentum and ending on a positive note before trading was suspended. The total volume of shares was 177.642 million valued at Rs9.1 billion.
Meanwhile, the KSE 30 index dropped by 7.19 points (-0.05%) and dropped at 14,226.04 points. The total volume of shares was 123.016 million. The top active stock remained MLCF (4.48%), Hascol (0.29%), DGKC (1.73%), FCCL (2.04%), HUM Network (15.24%), followed by Unity (0.55%), Power (3.23%) and PAEL (0.09%).
The stock market remained tense as bulls clashed with bears to maintain the upper hand. The market was triggered as the State Bank of Pakistan received $1.39 billion under the Rapid Financing Instrument from the International Monetary Policy (IMF). The emergency loan provided to support the economy from the adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic led support to the stock market.
The oil and gas sector remained in the red zone for much of the day with heavy volume on offer but wary investors. The North Brent, the international benchmark for crude oil, came tumbling down and briefly traded at $16 per barrel. This subdued investor investment at the local stock market.
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