Daily Times

The benchmark KSE-100 ended the session with a loss of more than 100 points, its first negative finish in almost a week, as pressure mounted on the current administration over a motion of no confidence against the prime minister. However, activity increased on Wednesday.

After a jittery start to the day on Wall Street due to political uncertainty, the benchmark index fell as low as 43,975.75 on the day (down 463 points). However, there was some improvement in the final portion of the class. On Wednesday, the KSE-100 finished at 44,337.56 points, down 0.23 percent at the close.

In a post-market comment, Capital Stake wrote, “Uncertainty created by the ongoing political instability of the country undermined investor confidence.”

The political climate in Pakistan has been tumultuous for some weeks. Prime Minister Imran Khan is under fire from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), a key government ally, which declared on Wednesday that it was joining the opposition ahead of a no-trust vote.

In an interview with a private channel, Capital Securities CEO and former PSX director, Zafar Moti claimed that the current political crisis will have a negative influence on both the market and the wider economy. Since two weeks ago, “the situation is affecting the market performance, and it will continue to do so in the coming days,” he added, adding that the Ministry of Finance has also reported that domestic political noise is affecting economic growth. An all-time low of Rs182.64 per dollar was recorded on the economic front.

Oil and gas exploration (61.13 points), fertilizer (23.38 points), and oil and gas marketing (61.13 points) were the sectors that dragged the benchmark index lower (21.45 points).

The all-stock index’s trading volume jumped from 268.91 million shares on Tuesday to 344.14 million shares, a considerable increase. Shares traded saw an increase in value to Rs7.78 billion, up from Rs7.17 billion in the previous session.

There were 38.42 million shares in K-Electric, followed by 31.12 million in Ghani Global Holdings, and 19.94 million in WorldCall Telecom. On Wednesday, shares of 354 firms were traded, with 158 seeing their prices rise, 169 seeing their prices fall, and 27 seeing their prices stay the same.