Due to poor indications and internal and external challenges, stocks struggled to establish a floor on the opening day of the upcoming rollover week on Monday.
The investment environment remained unfavorable due to uncertainty over the mini-budget, as well as worries about the rupee-dollar parity.
According to reports, the government plans to introduce amended Finance and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) autonomy bills in Parliament for approval tomorrow (Tuesday), ahead of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board’s sixth review of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) on January 12.
The bears took control of the day, and the benchmark KSE-100 index saw another wave of stock selling, dropping nearly 200 points by the conclusion of it.
The market remained turbulent owing to the forthcoming mini-budget, according to Arif Habib Limited’s assessment.
“Profit-taking was seen in the final trading hour as the market struggled between bulls and bears throughout the day,” it stated, adding that mainboard volumes remained dull owing to the absence of a trigger.
Oil and gas exploration firms (-63 points), technology and communication (-55 points), electricity generation and distribution (-34 points), commercial banks (-33 points), and food and personal care items (-33 points) all contributed to the poor performance (-20 points).
According to Topline Securities’ post-market assessment, Pakistani equities began the week on a sour note, with the market being stuck in a 320-point range throughout trading hours.
“Investors have chosen to stay on the sidelines ahead of tomorrow’s parliament session, when the Finance Act and SBP Autonomy legislation will be tabled for approval,” the statement stated.
Profit-taking was seen in the technology, exploration and production, and electricity sectors, with TRG Pakistan, Mari Petroleum, and Hubco together losing 127 points.
The benchmark KSE-100 index dropped 204.95 points, or 0.46 percent, to 43,913.44 points today.
During the session, 342 businesses’ shares were exchanged. 116 scrips finished in the green, 196 in the red, and 30 stayed unchanged at the end of trade.
Overall trading volumes fell to 114.66 million shares, down from 223.4 million on Friday. During the day, Rs4.41 billion worth of shares were exchanged.
With 10.87 million shares traded, Energy PK was the most active, earning Rs0.02 to settle at Rs6.32. TRG Pakistan was next, with 9.5 million shares traded and a loss of Rs5.43 to end at Rs112.97. Unity Foods Limited (R) lost Rs0.24 to settle at Rs1.55 after 9.25 million shares were traded.