Pakistan stocks fall 503 points as bears gain control

KARACHI: Pakistan stocks fell by 503 points on Monday as bears gained control due to uncertain political and economic conditions.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended at 40,504 points from last Friday closing of 41,007 points, showing a decline of 503 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that following the return of the business week, the bears had a successful day at the PSX.

The benchmark KSE-100 index opened in the green, but bears gained control and drove the index down to 502.76 points at the close of trading.

Market sentiment remains negative due to current political and economic instability, as well as the notification about TRG judicial proceedings further escalated the bearish scenario pushing the index down by 570.70 points during intraday.

However, investors continued value hunting keeping the E&P sector in the spotlight in expectation of the resolution of the Gas Circular debt.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Commercial Banks (-162.8 points), Technology & Communication (-105.3 points), Cement (-74.2 points), Fertilizer (-73.1 points), and Power Generation & Distribution (-36.0 points).

Volumes decreased from 182.0 million shares to 163.9 million shares (-9.9 per cent DoD). The average traded value increased by 1.3 per cent to USD 30.3 million as against USD 29.9 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes are PRL, PPL, CNERGY, WTL and TRG.