KARACHI:The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday witnessed a lacklustre session as the benchmark KSE-100 closed flat with a meagre loss of nearly nine points.
The benchmark KSE-100 index opened upwards but it soon entered the red zone and started losing ground after mid-day. The range-bound session had a dull activity amid the uncertainty regarding the upcoming federal budget for the next fiscal year 2022-23.
Moreover, the continuous depreciation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar coupled with concerns regarding the revival of stalled multibillion dollars International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme impacted the investment climate negatively.
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 41,568.41 with a loss of 8.80 points, or 0.02%.
A report from Arif Habib Limited noted that a range-bound secession was observed at the PSX today due to further devaluation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollars and concerns regarding new taxes in the upcoming budget, which kept the investors at the bay. The volumes remained dry on the main board although third-tier stocks continued positive momentum.
Sectors contributing to the performance included banks (-21 points), technology (-20.5 points), power (-13.1 points), vanaspati and allied (-11.9 points) and investment banks (-8.7 points).
Shares of 329 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 128 scrips closed in the green, 180 in the red, and 21 remained unchanged.
Overall trading volumes rose to 157.43 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 189.24 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.2 billion.
TPL Properties was the volume leader with 17.45 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.27 to close at Rs18.82. It was followed by Unity Foods with 15.52 million shares traded, losing Rs1 to close at Rs20.07 and Pakistan Refinery Limited with 13.41 million shares traded, losing Rs0.41 to close at Rs17.05.