Stocks at PSX falter as political unrest spooks investors

• KSE-100 index plunges 777.26 points to settle at 43,029.97.
• Jittery investors continue to weigh impact of domestic political turmoil.
• Shares of 335 companies were traded during the session. 

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) endured another volatile trading session on Friday, as the benchmark KSE-100 index plunged nearly 780 points in a roller coaster session on Friday and closed the week in the red.

The KSE-100 index came under across-the-board selling pressure and ended the day in the negative territory for the second consecutive session as jittery investors continued to weigh the impact of domestic political turmoil.

On the domestic front, the political uncertainty stemming from the no-confidence motion filed by the Opposition parties against Prime Minister Imran Khan dented the confidence of market players.

Moreover, the deteriorating value of the rupee against the US dollar, which fell to an all-time low at Rs180.57, sparked concerns of imported inflation and widening of the current account deficit to unsustainable levels, thus creating an atmosphere of fear at the bourse.

At the close, KSE-100 index plunged 777.26 points, or 1.77%, to settle at 43,029.97 points.

Shares of 335 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 64 scrips closed in the green, 256 in the red, and 15 remained unchanged.

Overall trading volumes rose to 180.43 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 148.5 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs6.39 billion.

WorldCall Telecom Limited was the volume leader with 13.48 million shares traded, losing Rs0.07 to close at Rs1.50. It was followed by Ghani Global Holdings with 10.05 million shares traded, losing Rs0.92 to close at Rs14.14, and K-Electric with 8.82 million shares traded, losing Rs0.10 to close at Rs2.92.