ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another range-bound trading session on Wednesday, as the indices swung both ways in search of a clear direction before settling flat.
Following the failure of talks between the business community and the government on Tuesday, the traders continued their strike against tax measures introduced by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). As per media reports, in order to end the ongoing deadlock, the FBR has drafted a fixed tax scheme for traders which would be discussed with businessmen in a session that would be presided by Advisor to Prime Minister of Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.
Gaining 153.97 points, the KSE-100 Index marked its intraday high at 33,951.48. The index then swung in both directions, recording its intraday low at 33,670.70 after losing 126.81 points. It finally closed flat, lower by 36.10 points, at 33,761.41. The KMI-30 Index dropped 128.30 points to end at 54,830.79, while the KSE All Share Index managed to gather 71.98 points, closing at 24,572.48.
The overall volumes plunged from 225.08 million in the last session to 129.96 million. Worldcall Telecom (WTL -1.64pc), Unity Foods Limited (UNITY -2.18pc) and Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +3.40pc) led the volume chart. The scripts had exchanged 13.34 million, 7.48 million and 7.05 million shares respectively.
Sectors that helped the KSE-100 Index gain maximum points included oil and gas marketing (+34.75 points), tobacco (+31.04 points) and investment banking (+27.79 points). On the other hand, fertiliser (-39.00 points), miscellaneous (-31.17 points) and banking (-29.62 points) sectors dented the index the most.
Unity Foods Limited Unity (UNITY -2.18pc) announced its financial performance for the first quarter of FY20. Sales increased by 46pc YoY, finance cost surged by 191pc YoY, while earnings per share declined from Rs0.66 in the same period last year to Rs0.17.
Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited (FATIMA +0.43pc) reported an EPS of Rs1.81 for the third quarter of FY19 (Rs1.48 in 3QFY18), Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Limited (GATM -0.54pc) announced an EPS of Rs1.02 for 1QFY20 (Rs1.83 in 1QFY19), Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK -1.47pc) posted an EPS of Rs2.96 for 3QFY19 (Rs7.71 in 3QFY18) while Hascol Petroleum Limited (HASCOL +0.03pc) declared an EPS of Rs-13.60 (Rs3.31 in 3QFY18).
