Stocks shed 240 points on continuous PKR devaluation

Stocks shed 240 points on continuous PKR devaluation

KARACHI: Pakistan stocks declined by 240 points on Thursday owing to continuous fall in value of Pakistani Rupee (PKR) against the US dollar.

The benchmark KSE-100 index ended at 41,772 points from previous day’s closing of 42,012 points, showing a decline of 240 points.

READ MORE: Stocks end flat in volatile trading session

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the benchmark index witnessed another range bound session on Thursday due to continued widening gap of US dollar against the Pakistani Rupee.

The devaluation in Pakistani Rupee (PKR) continued for 10th straight day as the US dollar ended PKR 235.88 in interbank foreign exchange market on Thursday.

READ MORE: Stock market gains 139 points amid weak sentiments

The exchange rate witnessed a decline of Rs1.56 in rupee value to end at Rs235.88 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs234.32 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

The local currency recorded a decline of Rs16.08 or 8 per cent during the past 10 sessions from Rs218.60 against the dollar on September 01, 2022.

The market opened in the positive zone and continued the positive momentum throughout the day however, during the last trading hour profit taking was observed which led the index to close in the red.

READ MORE: Pakistan stocks shed 86 points in range bound trading

Volumes remained healthy in the main board on the contrary the hefty volumes were recorded in the 3rd tier stocks

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-81.3 points), Fertilizer (-59.3 points), E&P’s (-57.1 points), Power (-37.5 points) and Cement (-32.0 points).

READ MORE: Weekly Review: market to stay range bound on inflation concerns

Volumes increased from 156.6 million shares to 260.0 million shares (+66.0 per cent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 54.41 per cent to reach US$ 42.9 million as against US$ 27.8 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes are TRG, WTL, TPLP, FABL and KEL.