Daily Times

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) shed 335 points amid profit-taking, as KSE 100 failed to sustain the momentum after crossing 40,000 mark in the previous session.

The benchmark KSE 100 Index recorded its intraday high at 40,444.05 after gaining 319.83 points during the initial trading hours. It then changed its direction and recorded its intraday low at 39,725.70 after losing 398.52 points. The index settled lower by 335.49 points at 39,788.73. The KMI 30 Index declined by 629.16 points or 1.01pc to close at 62,598.09, while the KSE All Share Index fell short by 152.72 points, ending at 28,118.73.

Of the 94 traded companies in the KSE100 Index 32 closed up 61 closed down, while 1 remained unchanged. Total volume traded for the index was 286.77 million shares. All Share Volume decreased by 108.52 million to 448.88 million shares. Market Cap decreased by Rs.45.85 Billion. The overall trading volumes declined from 557.39 million in the previous session to 448.88 million.

Sectors that plucked the index off included banking by 87.61 points, cement 79.15 points and fertilizer 64.74 points. Among the companies, Engro Corporation Limited, United Bank Limited and Lucky Cement Limited dented the index the most.

K-Electric Limited lead the volumes for the day including TRG Pakistan Limited and The Bank of Punjab. The scripts had exchanged 42.81 million, 25.29 million and 19.15 million shares, respectively.

Sectors propping up the index were Insurance with 12 points, Paper & Board with 9 points, Refinery with 4 points, Food & Personal Care Products with 4 points and Real Estate Investment Trust with 1 points. The most points added to the index was by Muslim Commercial Bank which contributed 20 points followed by NESTLE with 16 points, The Searle Company Limited with 13 points, Engro Fertilizers Ltd with 10 points and Packages Limited with 9 points.

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) issued revised Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financial Terrorism (AML/CFT) guidelines for non-profit organizations (NPOs).

The new guidelines explicitly highlight the consequences of money laundering, terror financing, predicate crimes and other abuses on the NPO sector.

The AML/CFT guidelines for NPOs, firstly issued in September 2018, aimed at facilitating Section 42 Companies Ordinance with compliance with AML/CFT Regulations 2018. The amended version would provide the NPO sector an improved understanding of risks of terror financing, including transnational TF risk. The guidelines also include major findings of Pakistan’s National Inherent Risk Assessment on money laundering and terrorism financing.

In Asia: Stock markets across Asia slipped after the United States said it would reinstate tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Brazil and Argentina. US President Donald Trump’s announcement dampened Investors’ confidence and raised fears about resurging global trade tensions.

Mainland Chinese shares bucked the overall trend regionally as they recovered from earlier losses to see gains on the day. The Shanghai composite added 0.31% to around 2,884.70 while the Shenzhen component rose 0.55% to 9,657.65. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index shed 0.64% at 23,379.81, while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.38% to close at 2,084.07 as shares of chipmaker SK Hynix dropped 2.24%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.17% as shares of retailers fell. Data on Monday showed total retail sales volume for October in the Hong Kong dropped 26.2% year-on-year.