KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) was surrounded by dark clouds on the last trading session of the week, as investor sentiments were shaken following news reports regarding Pakistan’s position on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list.
On the economic front, Pakistan’s total foreign exchange reserves dipped slightly to $15.60 million (as on August 17, 2019) from $15,578 million a week earlier.
Gaining 216.11 points, the index recorded its intraday high of 32,100.56 soon after the commencement of the session. The index then drove in the reverse direction, reaching its day’s low at 31,225.06 after shedding 659.39 points. It finally closed lower by 534.44 points at 31,350.01. The KMI-30 Index dropped 849.18 points to settle at 49,876.08, while the KSE All Share Index lost 258.19 points, ending at 22,940.49. The advancers-to-decliners ratio was recorded at 122-to-177.
The banking sector (-185.35 points), oil and gas exploration sector (-93.52 points) and power generation and distribution sector (-69.99 points) kept the KSE-100 Index in the negative territory.
Among the companies, Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC -54.98 points), Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC -44.73 points) and Habib Bank Limited (HBL -42.38 points) dented the index the most.
The overall trade volumes stood at 230.09 million while weekly average volume was recorded at 174.41 million. Unity Foods Limited (UNITY -2.53pc), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF -1.63pc) and Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL 1.78pc) led the volume chart on Friday with 18.87 million shares, 16.91 million shares and 15.90 million shares exchanging hands respectively.
Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL +1.78pc) declared its financials for the second quarter of FY19. The company’s sales increased by 23pc, while its earnings per share improved from Rs0.15 in 2QFY18 to Rs0.17 in the period under review.
