Profit-taking wipes off profits, KSE-100 closes level
The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed flat on Wednesday at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), which had seen advances in the early trading hours before profit-taking reversed those gains.
Additionally, compared to the prior session, fewer shares were traded and for less money.
Buying was seen in the index-heavy vehicle assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, fertilisers, oil and gas exploration businesses and OMCs throughout the first half of trade.
This caused the index to surpass 44,000.
But in the second half, profit-taking reversed the gains, and the benchmark index ended the day at 43,552.84, down 4.18 points or 0.01%.
According to experts, a series of events earlier in the day caused investors to feel optimistic.
Profit-taking rules the PSX a day after a record surge, while the KSE-100 drops by 0.78%.
According to Sana Tawfik, an analyst at Arif Habib Limited (AHL), “the Central Power Purchasing Authority’s (CPPA) disbursement of funds to Independent Power Plants (IPPS) is positively weighing on the power sector.”
According to reports, the CPPA has distributed Rs142 billion to IPPs in order to lower the stock of circular debt.
The development follows the recent staff-level agreement for a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) equivalent to $3 billion, which is in line with the IMF’s suggestion of reforms and advancement in the energy sector.
The IMF Executive Board’s approval is anticipated by the market in the upcoming days, she added. “This would strengthen the position of the nation’s reserves.”
In terms of the economy, statistics from the All-Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) shows that while domestic cement sales decreased by 29.97% YoY, exports climbed by 102.82% from SPLY.
Fertiliser (57.06 points), oil and gas exploration (54.63 points), and vehicle assembler (21.60 points) were the industries dragging the benchmark index lower.
The number of shares traded on the all-share index decreased from 419.3 million on Tuesday to 351.2 million on Wednesday, and the value of shares moved fell from Rs15.8 billion to Rs12 billion.
With 27.3 million shares, Pak Refinery led in terms of volume, followed by Cnergyico PK (20.8 million shares), and WorldCall Telecom (16.7 million shares).
On Wednesday, shares of 332 firms were traded; 146 of these saw increases, while 162 saw decreases.
