KARACHI: The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) 100-index lost 21.93 points to stand at 29993.87 points on the first day of trading on Monday, as the country has been facing multifarious challenges these days.
Earlier, the market started the week on a positive note and went up 34 points or 0.11 percent to reach 30049.91 points in morning session. However, the market failed to set the pace due to cautious trading. The KSE-100 opened at the weekend closing of 30015 and started upward march. Investors were cautious and played safe and opted to square their positions as uncertainty over the political situation and the SBP Monetary Policy prevailed.
The highest increase witnessed in price of the Fauji Cement, Telecard Limited, Jah Sidd Company and Engro Corporation, while the UniLever Pak, Siemens Pakistan XD, Shield Corporation and Millat Tractors Limited remained the biggest losers of the day.
As a whole, 28.60 percent of companies witnessed increase in their shares while 30.08 percent lost their share value and 2.81 percent companies remained stable.
Financial experts ruled out that the International Monetary Fund would release the fifth tranche of the standby arrangement as the government had failed to implement the necessary reforms, which further kept the market down.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan reiterated that he would continue his movement until the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Mr Khan addressed a mammoth public meeting outside the Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum. Amid the slogan of ‘Go Nawaz Go’, the cricketer-turned-politician repeated for the umpteenth time that the prime minister would have to resign because neither Saudi Arabia nor ‘Gullu Butt’ could save him. “Time has come for the two parties taking turns to go…Nawaz Sharif, you will have to go,” he said.
