Karachi, June 23, 2023 – Pakistan stocks faced a setback on Friday as they shed 87 points due to the prevailing political uncertainty in the country.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) concluded the day at 40,065 points, experiencing a decline from the previous day’s closing of 40,152 points.
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Experts from Arif Habib Limited analyzed the market conditions and noted that the PSX initially showed promising signs, with a positive start to the day. However, the momentum shifted as the session progressed, and the bears took control, resulting in a negative closing for the opening session.
During the second session, the market remained in the red zone, witnessing an intraday loss of 257.63 points. The impending International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal and the prevailing political uncertainty acted as deterrents for investors, keeping them cautious. Consequently, the session concluded with a net loss of 86.73 points. The trading volumes remained low in the mainboard, while the 3rd tier equity emerged as the volume board leaders.
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Several sectors contributed to the overall performance of the market. The Technology & Communication sector experienced a decline of 43.0 points, followed by the Commercial Banks sector with a loss of 23.3 points. Power Generation & Distribution (-17.1 points), Inv. Banks / Inv. Cos. / Securities Cos. (-16.5 points), and Automobile Assembler (-16.4 points) were among the sectors that also contributed negatively to the market.
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The trading volumes saw a slight increase from 116.5 million shares to 136.95 million shares, reflecting a 17.5 percent Day-over-Day (DoD) rise. Moreover, the average traded value witnessed a 32.0 percent increase, reaching USD 11.8 million compared to the previous value of USD 8.9 million.
Notable stocks that significantly contributed to the trading volumes on this day were WTL, UNITY, TRG, PTL, and WAVES.
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The decline in Pakistan stocks can be attributed to the ongoing political uncertainty, which has created a sense of caution among investors. As the market continues to navigate these challenging conditions, analysts and market participants will closely monitor the political landscape for any developments that may impact the stock market in the coming days.
