Daily Times

On Monday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a lack of activity as investors stayed away from the market due to unattractive economic and political events. Trading volume and value both dropped significantly as the KSE-100 ended its first trading session of the week down 0.58pc.

Monday’s trading day began on a downbeat tone, with the S&P 500 index falling 356.18 points to an intra-day low of 39,721.12 as investors remained cautious. To finish at 39,844.02, the KSE-100 index dropped 233.28 points or 0.58pc. “The rise in political tension and further devaluation of the Pakistani Rupee against the US Dollar continued to plague investors,” a study from Capital Stake warned.

The lack of participation was also noted by a study from Topline Securities, which stated that investors wanted clarity on the political and economic situations to come. In the inter-bank market, Pakistan’s rupee remained close to the 230 level against the US dollar.

Banking (107.83 points), fertilizer (43.52 points), and technology and communication were the sectors that dragged down the KSE-100 index (27.09 points). There was a notable drop in volume on the all-share index to 75.43m from the 171.27m that was traded on Friday. Shares traded also declined in price, from Rs4.74b to Rs1.83b, during this trading day’s session. Globally, WorldCall Telecom had the most shares (9.32m) and Lotte Chemicals had 7.99m, but TPL Properties Limited had the most outstanding shares (9.75m). On Monday, shares of 289 firms were traded, with 109 seeing their prices rise, 160 seeing their prices fall, and 20 seeing their prices stay the same.