PSX takes nosedive, plunges record 936.37 points
Last updated on: 21 November,2019 07:23 pm
A total of 146,540,190 shares were traded compared to the trade of 186,502,740 shares
KARACHI (Dunya News) – Bears maintained their grip at the Pakistan Stock Exchange as the index saw a further decline of 936.37 points or 2.52pc to close at 37,101 points as compared to the closing of 38,037 the previous day.
A total of 146,540,190 shares were traded compared to the trade of 186,502,740 shares during the previous day, whereas the value of shares traded during the day stood at Rs6.6 billion compared to Rs9.5 billion during last trading day.
Total 362 companies transacted shares in the Stock Market, out of which 67 recorded gain and 284 sustained losses whereas the share price of 11 companies remained unchanged.
The three top trading companies were KEL with a volume of 12,131,500 shares and price per share of Rs4.00, PAEL with a volume of 10,324,000 and price per share of Rs22.39 and TRG with a volume of 9,512,000 and price per share of Rs21.85.
On Wednesday, according to a report published in the Bloomberg, during the last three months, Pakistan’s stock market surged by 30 percent while Ireland’s stock market increased by 20 percent followed by Russia’s RTS index with a positive change of 15 percent.
The rally that has helped Pakistan stocks trounce the rest of the world in the past three months is not done yet, according to one brokerage.
Large investors, including mutual funds and insurers, are expected to jump in as double-digit returns from fixed income have begun to ebb away, A.A.H Soomro, managing director at Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari Securities Pvt, said in an interview with the Bloomberg.
“Banks are rethinking their strategy. They have to look at riskier assets now,” said Soomro, who spent about a decade as a fund manager at companies including Tundra Fonder AB. “So, the stock market is a tempting bet.”
With stocks trading at overbought levels, it’s probably inevitable there’s a pause for breath, the report said. The rally will resume as more investors come in. The KSE-100 fell on Wednesday after five straight days of gains.
Foreign investors have bought $64 million of the nation’s stocks this year, set for the first annual inflow since 2014. Their purchases will gather pace February after the nation’s next review by the Financial Action Task Force, the report added.
Traders, at the start of the month, were in a state of uncertainty and a bit of nervousness as the JUI-F-led anti-government protest march moved towards Islamabad with politicians agitating the participating crowd.
But later, when the opposition party called off the sit-in, the market had managed to calm down and the index had bounced back as heavy buying erupted in the current favourites, cement, oil marketing companies and blue-chip stocks in selected sectors.
Pakistan’s KSE-100 Index has advanced to the highest level in seven months, after falling to the lowest in almost five years in August, amid attempts by the government to stabilize the economy with a $6 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund after a deficit blowout. At the same time, bond yields have begun to fall after peaking around 14% mid-year, making debt investments less attractive.