Stocks rattled as political uncertainty peaks

• KSE-100 index falls below 40,000-point mark.
• Market reacts to repercussions of political uncertainty.
• Shares of 314 companies traded during the session. 

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) began another week on a bearish note on Monday, with the benchmark index plunging over 600 points as the market reacted to repercussions of political uncertainty.

In the backdrop of a worsening political scenario coupled with poor economic data, the index fell below the 40,000-point mark.

Political instability in the wake of the political tug-of-war-for-power in the country coupled with the Punjab assembly dissolution and local body elections in Sindh impacted the investment climate.

Moreover, concerns regarding monetary policy rate hikes, depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar, and delay in the ninth review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme further dented investors’ sentiment.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index plunged by 602.70 points, or 1.49%, to settle at 39,720.75.

Arif Habib Limited, in its post-market commentary, stated that the business week started off with negative sentiments across the board resulting in the index trading in the red territory throughout the session due to the prevailing political uproar. 

"Investors' participation remained sluggish across the board as the index touched an intraday low of 662.70 points and closed in the negative zone at the end of the trading day," the report noted adding that the volumes remained dry across the board.

Sectors contributing to the performance included exploration and production (-132.1 points), technology and communication (-97.1 points), cement (-63.2 points), fertiliser (-57.1 points), and commercial banks (-56 points).

Shares of 314 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 65 scrips closed in the green, 228 in the red, and 21 remained unchanged.

Overall trading volumes declined to 105.54 million shares compared with Friday's tally of 173.26 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs3.20 billion.