KARACHI: Bears ruled the stock market for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday as the benchmark index declined by 428 points.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 43,936 points as against the previous day’s closing of 44,364 points.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that bears ruled over the bulls for the fourth consecutive session in a week due to concerns over the devaluation of the Pak rupee and the last leg of foreign selling spree.
Roll-over week continued to remain under pressure despite attractive valuations in terms of low P/E multiples and high dividend yields.
Technology stocks remained in the limelight throughout the day as traders placed the bet on high-beta stocks to mark quick trading gains. On the flip-side, Institutional investors fetched for value hunting in the last trading hour.
Sectors contributing to the performance include Commercial Banks (-140 points), Power (-59 points), Fertilizer (-50 points), Cement (-48 points) and Pharmaceuticals (-432 points).
Volumes decreased from 310.4 million shares to 195.2 million shares (-37.1 per cent DoD). Traded value also decreased by 35.2 per cent to reach US$ 48.0 million as against US$ 74.0 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TPLP, BYCO, HUBC, WTL and TRG.
