Sept marks stock market’s worst month since start of Covid

Author: Our Correspondent

The benchmark KSE-100 Index for Pakistan’s stock market ended September on a high note, but the market had its worst month since the pandemic-driven bloodbath in March 2020 as currency depreciation, geopolitical concerns, and a growing current account deficit weighed on economic sentiment.

In absolute terms, the KSE-100 fell by 5.3 percent in September, or 2,513 points. The drop is the biggest in a single month since March 2020, when the KSE-100 fell by nearly 26% as a result of a global pandemic-induced selloff.

Stocks, on the other hand, recovered on Thursday, posting a sharp rise in the final hour of trading, wiping out losses of nearly 250 points and finishing with a 1.2 percent gain overall. Closing at 44,899.60, the benchmark index had risen 532.86 points by then.

Equity market investors struggled this month due to the global economy’s unprecedented spike in commodity prices. For the month of August, Pakistan’s trade deficit reached Rs6.3 billion, a record high. As a result, the local currency continued to fall throughout the month, eventually reaching an all-time low of more than 170 to the US dollar.

In the meantime, a republican bill draught has sparked concern over the possibility that the United States will announce sanctions against the Taliban, according to the report.

The KSE-100 fell by 2.01pc or 908 points on September 29, the most in the calendar year (on a daily basis). The KSE-100 finished near 44,300 on Wednesday.

An extra day of gains by sectors such as banking (146.68 points), cement (141.34 points), and oil and gas exploration contributed to the KSE-100’s overall gains.

On the other hand, volume on the all-stock index dropped from 468.76 million shares on Wednesday to 372.43 million shares on Thursday. During the session, the value of shares traded fell significantly to Rs13.7 billion from Rs16.4 billion on Wednesday.

K-Electric Limited had the most shares outstanding, followed by Byco Petroleum and Azgard Nine, each with 29.76 million, and 20.82 million, respectively.

On Thursday, shares of 557 companies were traded, with 385 of those seeing their value rise, 157 seeing their value fall, and 15 seeing their value stay the same.