KARACHI: Pakistan stock ended flat on Thursday owing to ongoing political uncertainty and appointment of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS).
The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended 42,903 points from previous day’s closing of 42,880 points, showing an increase of 23 points.
READ MORE: Political uncertainty keeps Pakistan stocks range-bound
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that another range-bound session was witnessed at the PSX during the day.
The market opened in the green zone but due to the ongoing political uncertainty, investors chose to book profits at higher levels.
READ MORE: Stocks end up on addition of Pakistani companies in global indices
Given President’s final approval for the COAS appointment remained pending, investor confidence remained lackluster.
This resulted in lower market participation. Volumes on the mainboard remained sluggish, with third-tier stocks continuing to lead in terms of volume.
READ MORE: Stocks end flat amid lackluster trading activity
Sectors contributing to the performance include Fertilizer (+19.6 points), Tobacco (+17.3 points), Cement (+14.7 points), Inv. Banks / Inv. Cos. / Securities Cos. (+11.8 points), Power Generation & Distribution (+9.8 points).
Volumes increased from 138.6 million shares to 153.1 million shares (+10.5 per cent DoD). The average traded value also increased by 14.0 per cent to USD 26.18 million as against USD 23.0 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes are WTL, TRG, HASCOL, JSBL, and DFML.
READ MORE: Weekly Review: political situation to keep investors vigilant
