Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) failed to profit off impressive economic figures, as investor participation continued to dwindle due to mounting fears of Covid-19 resurgence. On Friday, the benchmark index KSE-100 managed to close in a positive territory, but advanced only 4.79 points to clock at 40,569.35. During the session, the index struggled to attract investors’ attention, as the lack of fresh triggers, coupled with rising political uncertainty and resurgence of Covid-19 in the country weighed on investors’ sentiments. The market has hitherto entirely discount the Covid-19 vaccine news, as short lived optimism has faded due to fresh round of Covid-19 lockdown, triggering fears of another cessation of economic activity. However, the index did exhibit a short-lived resistance during the day after series of positive economic indicators were announced during the day. Investors welcomed the mighty increase in the Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) production by 7.65 percent on year-on-year basis during the month of September 2020, as compared to the corresponding month of last year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported. The data reflected the resumption of economic activities at full pace in the country which raised hopes of revival of economic activity. Inter-alia investors also reacted to the increased in State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) reserve and continuous appreciation of Pakistan Rupee against U.S dollar. According to the central bank’s data released on Friday, SBP foreign exchange reserves rose 4.57percent on a weekly basis. The data revealed that on November 6th, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $12.7 Billion, up $558 million compared with $12.2 billion in the previous week. Meanwhile, Pakistani Rupee maintained its winning streak against the U. Dollar for 21st consecutive day. “Stable foreign exchange reserves and a return to current-account surplus for the first time in five years, thanks to record remittances, have helped shore up the currency,” said Bloomberg in its report. “The nation separately won $1.4 billion in emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund this year, while it also received funds from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank to deal with the economic impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.” During the session, the selling pressure was witnessed across the board, primarily in cement, exploration & production and oil & gas marketing sectors. Cement sector staged recovery before the midday break and carried the momentum in the afternoon session as well, after losing ground for past two consecutive sessions. At kse-100, the index volumes decreased from 167.11 million shares recorded in the previous session to 120.4 million shares, while the overall market volumes were recorded at around 243.1 million shares, drastically decreasing from the previous session’s volumes of 328.30 million shares. The volume chart was led by Pakistan Refinery Limited followed by Unity Foods Limited and TRG Pakistan Limited. The scrips exchanged 28.27 million, 19.56 million and 15.30 million shares, respectively. Sectors that dented the index were Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 75 points, Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 43 points and Pharmaceuticals with 10 points. Among the scrips, most points taken off the index was by Pakistan Oilfields Limited which stripped the index of 32 points followed by Oil & Gas Development Company Limited with 27 points, Sui North Gas Pipeline Limited with 24 points and Pakistan Petroleum Limited with 19 points. However, the sectors which resisted the pressure were Commercial Banks with 37 points, Cement with 27 points, Technology and Communication with 24 points and Power Generation and Distribution with 15 points. Among the scrips, most points added to the index was by Systems Limited which contributed 31 points followed by Habib Bank Limited with 15 points, Hub Power Company Limited with 13 points, National Bank of Pakistan Limited with 11 points and Lucky Cement Limited with 10 point. Global Markets: Cautious investors discount Vaccine news Global stocks traded mixed as market rally led by Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough continued to fade, ending their longest winning streak in over a year, one that has lifted them more than 10%. The markets also witnessed a halt in a strong market rotation of stocks out of names that thrived during the pandemic, and into stocks linked to an economic recovery, as Big Tech stock rebounded coupled with investors returning to safe-haven government bonds. In Asia, stocks traded mixed, as coronavirus cases continue to surge in the U.S., dimming optimism from positive vaccine news. Among the regional markets, South Korea’s Kospi index was the only market to post gains, added 0.74% to close at 2,493.87. However, Chinese stocks led the regional losses which led Shanghai composite to declined 0.86% to around 3,310.10, followed by Japan’s Nikkei 225 which shed 0.53% to close at 25,385.87. Following the regional trend, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also closed fractionally lower at 26,156.86. European financial markets however showed some resistance against the rising fears of lockdown in the continent, as second wave of Covid-19 has ripped through the region.