KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) observed a dismal trading session on Monday and failed to make any significant gains during the day.
The benchmark KSE 100 index saw a change of merely 16.10 points (0.05%) and closed at 33,283.79 points. The course fell by 141.54 points soon after trading resumed on the first day of the week but quickly rebounded as market forces sought to regain control.
The stock market eventually settled for a paltry gain of sixteen points before trading was suspended. The total volume of share dropped to 87.689 million valued at Rs3.212 billion.
The lower bench KSE 30 index dropped by 11.77 points (-0.08%) and closed at 14,607.93 points. The total volume of scripts traded was 43.431 million.
The share prices of top investors increased particularly WTL (28.21%), TRG (6.72%), UNITY (2.81%), HUMNL (13.95%), Descon (2.54%), KEL (2.12%), PAEL (2.67%) and SNGP (6.76%), while HASCOL (0.34%) and MLCF (-0.50%) saw a decline in share prices.
The stock market has seen investors resorting to profit-taking since the past week compounded by instability in crude oil prices. Investors also remained cautious due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy and domestic markets.
There has been a massive fall in exports by 54% year-on-year in last month followed by a fall in cement sales by 24% in April 2020 amid lockdown. The oil exploration and cement sector suffered a battery in the preceding week which continued on Monday.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that total foreign reserves will be depleted by $1.9 billion in the coming 15 months. Investors were also expecting a further reduction in policy rate owing to a decline in inflation rate for April.
The lacklustre trading continued over the new week leading to pessimism and investors resorted to selling booked profits. The government’s decision to ease lockdown restrictions and reopen markets does not seem to have a profound impact on the equity market.
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