KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a volatile trading session on Thursday as the KSE-100 Index closed flat after fluctuating throughout the day. Mixed trading was witnessed due to a combination of upward and downward pressures.
Despite the market opening with a jump and hitting an intra-day high at noon, it later started its descent and closed unchanged. By the end of the session, the KSE-100 Index closed 5.87 points or 0.01% higher at 42,093.8.
According to reports and data gathered by MM News, several sectors, including the automobile, cement, chemical and oil spaces, saw significant selling. However, the banking sector closed with gains. The positive momentum continued at the PSX, according to a report by Arif Habib Limited. The report noted a rally in the cement and IT sectors, although profit-taking was witnessed during the last half of the day.
Investor participation remained healthy, with decent volumes recorded across the board. Capital Stake, in its report, stated that the PSX ended a volatile session on Thursday flat. Indices traded in the green all day long until finally closing flat, while volumes depreciated from the previous close.
On the economic front, the All-Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) released data indicating a 25.12% decline in domestic cement sales on a year-on-year basis, while exports increased by 168.15% from SPLY.
The technology and communication sector, banking sector, and food and personal care products sector positively contributed to the benchmark KSE-100 index, with 51.18 points, 46.24 points, and 39.11 points, respectively.
The volume on the all-share index fell to 255.3 million from 289.8 million on Wednesday, while the value of shares traded dropped to Rs9.3 billion from Rs10.2 billion recorded in the previous session. Maple Leaf Cement was the volume leader with 23.4 million shares, followed by Fauji Foods with 17.1 million shares and WorldCall Telecom with 13.6 million shares. On Thursday, shares of 359 companies were traded, of which 160 recorded an increase, 177 recorded a fall, and 22 remained unchanged.
