Daily Times

Investors treaded cautiously at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday, as overall lack of positive triggers, and rising Covid fears restrained the index and resulted in range-bound trading.

On Wednesday, the benchmark KSE-100 opened on a bullish note and touched intra-day high at 45,626.88 level after gaining 227.1 points. However, paring early gains the index reversed its trajectory and clocked at 45,306.54 level by the closing bell after posting a 93 points loss.

During the session the market was gripped with fears of rising Covid cases, after the Federal Minister for Planning and Development and the Chief of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Asad Umar on Wednesday issued a warning and said that if the coronavirus situation continues to worsen in the country, the government will be compelled to impose more restrictions, which dampened investors’ confidence.

Moreover, investors seemed somewhat despondent of the financial results announced by Maple Leaf Cement and Nishat Power Limited during the day.

Market Cap decreased by Rs.36.97 billion, while total value traded increased by 5.13 billion to Rs.19.34 billion.

The volume at KSE-100 was recorded at 171 million shares, whereas the all-share volume clocked in at about 387.9 million shares.

The volume chart was led by TRG Pakistan followed by Worldcall Telecom Limited and Unity Foods Limited. The scrips exchanged 46.75 million, 42.89 million and 37.61 million shares, respectively.

According to the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) foreign investors were net buyers of $4.26 million worth of equities.

Among local investors, Insurance Companies and Brokers led the selling chart, which offloaded $1.49 million, $1.09 million worth of equities.

During the session, sectors which dented the index were Cement with 76 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 45 points, Engineering with 24 points, Refinery with 20 points, and Chemical with 18 points. Among the scrips, the most points taken off the index was by Lucky Cement which stripped the index of 28 points followed by Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited with 22 points, Pakistan Oilfields Limited with 18 points, Oil & Gas Development Company Limited with 16 points, and International Steels Limited with 15 points.

However, the sectors which lifted the index were Technology & Communication with 72 points, Commercial Banks with 59 points, Fertilizer with 18 points, Textile Composite with 4 points, and Automobile Parts & Accessories with 3 points. Among the scrips, the most points added to the index was by TRG Pakistan which contributed 89 points followed by Engro Corporation Limited with 37 points, National Bank of Pakistan with 22 points, Kohinoor Textile Mills Limited with 18 points, and Engro Fertilizers Limited with 13 points.