Daily Times

With minimal participation against a backdrop of political unrest and troubling economic statistics, the KSE-100 was able to close over the 44,000-point mark, showing some signs of optimism at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). Only 108.41 million shares changed hands, down from 115.64 million in the previous day’s trading, on the KSE-100. The PSX recorded a 22-month low volume amid the Ramazan factor and political uncertainty.

Despite the minimal trading volume, the index rose steadily throughout the day before profit-taking was observed in the final trading hour. The KSE-100 index closed the day with a gain of 183.02 points, or 0.42 percent, to finish at 44,111.10 points. According to State Bank of Pakistan data, Pakistan’s central government’s debt grew by 17 percent on a year-over-year basis to Rs42,761 billion (SBP). More than two-thirds of the country’s entire debt was financed by domestic sources, while the rest was borrowed from outside. Fertilizer (68.28 points), technology and communication (34.35 points), and finance were some of the sectors that helped push the benchmark index higher (32.31 points).

The all-stock index saw a drop in volume from Tuesday’s 115.64 million shares to 108.41 million shares on Wednesday. From Rs4.58 billion to Rs4.27 billion worth of shares exchanged in the previous trading session, Shares in Treet Corporation topped the charts with 13.43 million, followed by Telecard Limited with 11.96 million, and Engro Polymer with 5.56 million. There were 324 trades on Wednesday involving 324 different businesses, of which 191 were gains, 104 were losses, and 30 were unchanged.