KARACHI: As another dismal week that saw the stock market plunge due to the worsening economic conditions, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday continued with a downward trajectory.
The benchmark KSE 100 index declined by 86.18 points (0.31%) and closed at 28,038.39 points. The bourse observed a downward trajectory in the early hours of trading and dropped over 257 points by noon. The indices dropped below the 28,000 level during intra-day trading before gaining momentum. The total volume of shares were 127.645 million at a value of Rs3.856 billion.s
Meanwhile, the lower bench KSE 30 index also witnessed a minuscule decline of 35.16 points (0.29%) and closed at 12,285.08 points. The total volume of scripts were 57.373 million. There was a rise in share price of several top active stocks notably MLCF (7.45%), Unity (1.35%), TRG (1.01%), DGKC (6.79%) and FCCL (7.73%).
The outgoing week has been lackustre for the stock market due to the coronavirus pandemic which has rocked the financial industry. The stock market reached a six-year low at 27,229 points as the stock market adjusts to new rules for market suspension during the difficult times. The stock market has been in free fall ever since business activity was affected due to the coronavirus crisis.
The State Bank of Pakistan reduced the interest rate to 11 percent as part of measures to offset the negative effects of the coronavirus crisis. This had a significant impact on the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar. The local currency was being traded at an all-time high of Rs169.20 against the dollar in intra-day trading. Many companies have shut down production units to comply with government lockdown directive and investors have stayed away from the stock market.
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