PSX Closing Bell: Twist the Knife

October 18, 2023 (MLN): Trading in the local equity market kicked off with the KSE-100 index dropping towards the previous yearly highs at around 49,400, followed by a strong rebound towards 49,740.97 marking the high for the day.

However, the market saw more profit-taking coupled with dampened sentiments owing to a sharp drop in PKR’s value, which had been on a historical winning streak against the USD.

The KSE-100 index ultimately closed the trading session at 49,431.48 marking a decline of 99.54 points or 0.2% DoD.

The index traded in a range of 357.26 points showing an intraday high of 49,740.98 (+209.97) and a low of 49,383.72 (-147.30) points.

The total volume of the KSE-100 Index was 157.192 million shares.

Of the 100 index companies 30 closed up, 61 closed down, 1 was unchanged, while 8 remained untraded.

KSE-100 Index was let down by Power Generation & Distribution with 49.28, Cement with 38.62, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 23.82, Textile Composite with 14.95, and Fertilizer with 13.74 points.

Companies dragging the index lower were HUBC with 44.01, OGDC with 27.65, MLCF with 16.1, BAFL with 16.05 and HBL with 15.02 points.

KSE-100 index was supported by Commercial Banks with 27.09, Automobile Assembler with 12.21, Technology & Communication with 10.7, Chemical with 8.71, and Pharmaceuticals with 6.55 points.

Companies adding points to the index were UBL with 33.23, MEBL with 18.13, MCB with 14.81, MTL with 13.36, and SYS with 12.49 points.

In the broader market, the All-Share index closed at 33,050.88 with a net loss of 57.54 points.

Total market volume was 332.607 million shares compared to 368.341 from the previous session while traded value was recorded at Rs8.82 billion showing a decrease of Rs1.58bn.

There were 141,386 trades reported in 345 companies with 139 closing up, 185 closing down and 21 remaining unchanged.

To note, the KSE-100 has gained 7,979 points or 19.25% during the fiscal year, whereas the ongoing calendar year has witnessed a cumulative increase of 9,011 points, equivalent to 22.29% in the KSE-100.

Copyright Mettis Link News