latest news from OCN,
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) had a bearish session on Thursday with the KSE-100 Index down 0.43% as investors awaited positive developments to take new positions.
Economic problems and political unrest played on the minds of investors and dragged down the market.
Finally on Thursday, the KSE-100 Index recorded a decline of 179.95 points or 0.43% to close at 41,694.09.
The KSE-100 rose 0.14% in the range-bound session
Trading started with a jump but the index was flat after the first hours. The market traded in a narrow range for the remainder of the session and the KSE-100 Index closed in the red.
The auto and fertilizer sectors closed on gains while the cement, banking and oil sectors were heavily traded.
A report from Capital Stake said that investors at PSX saw a tug-of-war between bulls and bears in which the latter won.
A report from Arif Habib Limited revealed that a range-bound session was recorded on the PSX.
“The market opened in the green and traded within a narrow range throughout the day to a high of 244.99 points as investors expected the government and the IMF to reach the SLA.”
Market participation remains tense due to ongoing political uncertainty and was recorded around the world as investors booked profits at the end of the day, it said.
On the economic side, the Pakistani rupee saw a relaxation against the US dollar, depreciating Re0.43 or 0.15% in the interbank market on Thursday to settle at 282.42.
The sectors driving the KSE-100 benchmark index lower included, oil and gas exploration (114.04 points), miscellaneous (66.97 points) and investment banking (23.29 points).
Volume in the all-stock index rose to 234.7 million from 233.3 million on Wednesday. The number of shares traded fell to Rs7.5 billion from Rs8.4 billion recorded in the previous period.
Telecard Limited was leading with 14.3 million shares followed by Ghani Global Holdings with 11.9 million shares and Maple Leaf Cement with 11.8 million shares.
Shares of 341 companies were sold on Thursday, where 186 registered an increase, 128 recorded a fall and 27 remained unchanged.