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KARACHI: Investors of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) endured a volatile session on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 closing flat amid range-bound activity.
Foreign investors closed the outgoing week as net buyers with a net inflow of $7.02 million (Jan 6-10).
On the economic front, Fitch Ratings Agency has affirmed Pakistan’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B-‘ with a stable outlook. The ‘B-‘ rating reflects a challenging external position characterised by a high external financing requirement and low reserves; weak public finances, including large fiscal deficits and a high government debt-to-GDP ratio; and weak governance indicators.
Furthermore, according to the latest data published by State Bank of Pakistan, remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis surged by 15.25pc in December 2019 as compared to the same period last year. On a cumulative basis, overseas Pakistanis remitted $11.394 billion in the first six months of FY20. The same stood at $11.03 billion in the corresponding period of last year.
Gaining 246.29 points, the KSE-100 Index recorded its intraday high at 43,453.34 during the initial trading hours. It then changed directions, sliding to its intraday low at 43,037.72 after losing 169.33 points. The index ended flat (+11.62 points) at 43,218.67. The KMI-30 Index closed lower by 148.67 points at 70,641.56, while the KSE All Share Index fell short by 37.47 points, settling at 30,020.98.
Sectors that pushed the KSE-100 Index down included tobacco (-32.20 points), fertiliser (-30.85 points) and power generation & distribution (-23.12 points). On the other hand, banking (+46.55 points), oil & gas exploration (+18.26 points) and textile composite (+17.02 points) sectors helped the index finish in the green zone.
The overall market volumes were recorded at 366.14 million. The Bank of Punjab (BOP -0.38pc), Summit Bank Limited (SMBL +41.50pc) and Silk Bank Limited (SILK +12.22pc) topped the volume chart, exchanging 34.97 million, 34.94 million and 24.79 million shares, respectively.
