KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday opened bearish shedding 156 points to drop to 43285 level in early trading.
On Wednesday, the stocks witnessed second consecutive negative session owing to rising concerns over macroeconomic indicators (declining reserves), prevailing political uncertainty, and lack of any trigger. Resultantly, the benchmark KSE 100-share index lost 264 points to close at 43,441 points.
DGKC, FCCL, MLCF showed low volumes and selling despite increasing cement price in north zone. Throughout the day, volume was especially low in DGKC; however, in the end trade was seen building up. Similarly, LUCK saw accumulation at the end of session, when market started losing points at pace. Lackluster activity in blue chips is evident from 31% volume traded in KSE-100 index as compared to total market volume.
The broader market volumes and value declined by 20% and 27%, respectively. Volumes declined from 177.5m shares to 142.4m shares (-20% DoD). Average traded value also declined by 27% DoD from $72.9m to $52.9m. Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included MFL, PIAA, UNITY, ANL and SSGC, reflecting 28% of total volumes.