KARACHI: Pakistan stocks plunged 579 points on Monday owing to negative sentiments prevailed after a suicide blast occurred in Peshawar.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended 39,871 points from last Friday’s closing of 39,871 points, showing a decline of 579 points.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that a negative session was recorded at the PSX during the day.
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The benchmark KSE-100 index opened in the green zone, but expectation of higher inflation in the coming months as well as prevailing economic instability and news of blast in Peshawar plunged the index down to an intraday low of 606.14 points and concluded in the red zone.
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According to reports the blast took place inside a mosque, which shook Peshawar’s Police Lines area during noon prayers. The blast claimed at least 32 people were killed and 147 were injured.
Investors participation remained low and closed in red zone at the end of the trading day. Volumes, on the other hand, remained healthy across the board.
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Sectors contributing to the performance include Commercial Banks (-141.6 points), Miscellaneous (-84.7 points), Fertilizer (-82.5 points), Technology & Communication (-72.4 points), and Cement (-67.3 points).
Volumes decreased from 191.3 million shares to 140.5 million shares (-26.6 per cent DoD). The average traded value also decreased by 25.3 per cent to USD 20.2 million as against USD 27.1 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes are. PRL, CNERGY, EPCL, PPL & OGDC.
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