Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a range-bound session on the last trading day of the week amid sell-off across the board, as benchmark KSE-100 gained lost 116.42 points by the closing bell to clock at 45,868.04 index level. The index began the session on a negative note right from the opening bell, as market witnessed profit-taking as well as redemption from Insurance companies and Mutual Funds. The index touched its intra-day low at 45,690 level after losing 293.96 points, however, the index reversed its early losses ahead of the closing bell, after the announcement of policy rate by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). On Friday, The central bank kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 7 percent on Friday while viewing growth and inflation expectations as well-anchored, although it says COVID-19 is still posing challenges to economic outlook.”At its meeting on 22nd January 2021, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to maintain the policy rate at 7 percent. The MPC noted that since the last meeting in November, the domestic recovery has gained some further traction. Most economic activity data and indicators of consumer and business sentiment have shown continued improvement. As a result, there are upside risks to the current growth projection of slightly above 2 percent in FY21,” the SBP said in a statement. The volume at Kse-100 declined from 333.35 million shares recorded in the previous session, to 236.25 million shares, while all-share volume also decreased from 606.38 million shares in the previous session to 430.63 million shares. The volume chart was led by K-Electric Limited,Fauji Foods Limited and Invest Capital Investment Bank Limited. The scrips exchanged 54.06 million, 24.68 million and 23.73 million shares, respectively. According to the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited foreign investors’ sold $0.61 million worth of shares. Among local investors the selling chart was led by Insurance Companies and Mutual Funds with $ 2.32 million and $0.98 worth of equities, however, Companies and Banks were net buyers of worth $2.85 million and $1.26 million worth of equities. Sectors that dented the index were Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 45 points, Fertilizer with 21 points, Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 14 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 11 points, and Technology & Communication with 9 points. Among the scrips, the most points taken off the index was by TRG Pakistan Limited which stripped the index of 27 points followed by ENGRO with 14 points, Mari petroleum Limited with 14 points, Pakistan Petroleum Limited with 13 points, and Oil &Gas Development Company Limited with 12 points. However, sectors that continued to weigh up the index were Engineering with 10 points, Textile Composite with 10 points, Glass & Ceramics with 6 points, Insurance with 5 points, and Transport with 4 points. Among the scrips, the most points added to the index was by Systems Limited which contributed 19 points followed by Kohinoor Textile Mills Limited with 14 points, International Industries Limitedwith 10 points, Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited with 9 points, and Ghani Glass Limited with 6 points. Week in Review: The recent rally at Pakistan Stock Exchange seem to lose steam, as the KSE-100 index slightly edged down by 63 points WoW primarily on account of the upcoming rollover week at the bourse. As of January 21, 2021, the outstanding futures value was recorded at PKR 23.5Bn as compared to PKR 23.7Bn last week (January 15, 2021). Investors were also eyeing on the first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the year scheduled this week. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in line with market consensus, has decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 7%. During the week, the benchmark index slipped by 0.14% WoW to settle at 45,868 level. The investor participation declined by 29% WoW with average volumes clocking-in at 494 Million, while the average traded value also decreased by 14% WoW to reach USD 122Million.On the other hand, concerns related to coronavirus seem to be settling down as the active number of infections has reduced to 35,000. Moreover, the news of China providing 0.5Mn doses of Sinopharm vaccine to Pakistan by the end of this month slightly uplifted the market sentiments. Globally, the equity markets soared to record-highs as Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of United States. Following the news, the NASDAQ index gained 1.52%, while Dow Jones index was also up by 0.4%. The oil prices also edged higher, with Brent oil reaching above USD 56 per barrel, due to expectations of hefty pandemic-related economic stimulus, and pro-green energy policies by Biden administration. Foreign investors were net buyers with net inflow of US6.1million for the week (four days) whereas among domestic participants, individuals and companies were major buyers with inflows of $14.6million and $4.1million. Additionally, top-performing sectors during the week were Technology & Communications which surged 3.2% and Oil Marketing Companies surged 2.9% , whereas Refineries and Oil & Gas Exploration lagged behind.