KSE-100 remains flat due to lack of positive triggers

By
Business Desk

November 15, 2021

— AFP/File
— AFP/File

  • At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index crawls down by 12.89 points to settle at 45,736.26 points.
  • A lack of positive triggers dampened investor sentiments, who were on the lookout for a development that could set direction.
  • Overall trading volumes dropped to 172.8 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 192.5 million.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a range-bound session on Monday and closed lower by just 13 points as a lack of positive triggers prevented investors from making fresh buying.

Bulls competed with bears as the market saw cherry-picking and profit-booking at the same time, resulting in a meagre loss by the close of the session.

A lack of positive triggers dampened investor sentiments, who were desperately on the lookout for a development that could set the market's direction.

The benchmark KSE-100 index kicked off trading on a bearish note, falling nearly 200 points, however, it failed to sustain the trend and the market rebounded. Selling pressure took over in the mid-day and dragged the index lower, wiping out the day's gains.

KSE-100 intra-day trading curve. — PSX data portal
KSE-100 intra-day trading curve. — PSX data portal

Sentiment remained mixed as investors were concerned over the country's economic situation.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index crawled down by 12.89 points, or 0.03%, to settle at 45,736.26 points.

A report from Topline Securities noted that Pakistan equities initiated the week with lacklustre activity as the market remained directionless during the trading hours amidst the low volumes.

“The market opened on a slight bearish note, touched an intra-day low of 45,545 (down 204 points or -0.45%) on the back of 28-week high weekly inflation (based on SPI) numbers, lower remittances numbers on a monthly basis and upward revision in Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) by the central bank over the weekend,” it said.

During the session, shares of 345 listed companies were traded. At the end of the session, 125 stocks closed in the green, 191 in the red, and 29 remained unchanged.

Overall trading volumes dropped to 172.8 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 192.5 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.13 billion.

Hascol Petroleum was the volume leader with 18.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.64 to close at Rs6.53. It was followed by Ghani Global Holdings with 17.8 million shares, gaining Rs1.06 to close at Rs34.15, and WorldCall Telecom with 11.22 million shares, gaining Rs0.05 to close at Rs2.39.