PSX Closing Bell: The Unquiet Dead

December 19, 2023 (MLN): The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a substantial setback in today's session as its benchmark KSE-100 index recorded its second largest day-on-day points decline of 2,371.64 points.

Consequently, the index concluded at 62,833.03, reflecting a decline of 3.64% in percentage terms.

The index traded in a range of 2,771.25 points showing an intraday high of 65,132.03 (+-72.64) and a low of 62,360.78 (-2,843.89) points.

The total volume of the KSE-100 index was 949.996 million shares.

This week has brought significant challenges to the local stock market, as the KSE-100 index has recorded a notable decline of 3,296 points within just two trading sessions.

This long overdue correction can be attributed to over-leveraged positions in the market, coupled with profit-taking by investors after a prolonged rally.

While talking to Mettis Global News on the downturn, Shayan Jan, a treasury dealer at JS Bank, stated that the market is currently under selling pressure that is expected to persist for some more time.

He further noted that profit booking is currently dominating the market, despite the positive news of the country's current account posting a surplus worth $9 million in November.

To note, this comes as the first surplus recorded in the last 5 months.

Additionally, it is important to mention that the KSE-100 index snapped its 10-week-long streak last week with a marginal decline of 93.6 points or 0.14% WoW.

Of the 100 index companies 4 closed up, 75 closed down, 0 were unchanged, while 21 remained untraded.

KSE-100 index was let down by Commercial Banks with 443.16, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 301.54, Fertilizer with 228.79, Cement with 192.28, and Technology & Communication with 166.99 points.

On the flip-side, the index was supported by Miscellaneous with 11.98.

Companies that dragged the index lower were MCB with 150.84, OGDC with 128.56, DAWH with 97.28, SYS with 90.17 and PPL with 89.74 points.

On the other hand, companies that added points to the index were PSEL with 26.42, MEBL with 8.69, RMPL with 3.52, and PTC with 0.18.

In the broader market, the All-Share index closed at 41,967.54 with a net loss of 1,676.30 points.

Total market volume was 1,513.931 million shares compared to 1,890.424 from the previous session while traded value was recorded at Rs29.10 billion showing an increase of Rs4.50bn.

This was the fifth-highest daily traded volume in the last decade, just behind May 2021.

There were 310,487 trades reported in 385 companies with 31 closing up, 350 closing down and 4 remaining unchanged.

To note, the KSE-100 has gained 21,380 points or 51.58% during the fiscal year, whereas the ongoing calendar year has witnessed a cumulative increase of 22,413 points, equivalent to 55.45%.

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