KARACHI : (Web Desk)A three-day bull run came to an end at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Wednesday as the benchmark KSE-100 index lost nearly 300 points on the back of rising commodity prices in the international market that dented investor interest.
The confidence of market participants waned after Brent crude futures touched a peak of $113.02 a barrel, the highest since June 2014.
Furthermore, there was uncertainty among investors ahead of the seventh review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and the announcement of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) decision.
At the close, the benchmark KSE-100 index shed 289.46 points, or 0.65%, to settle at 44,514.12 points.
A report from Arif Habib Limited noted that PSX witnessed another bearish session today due to a major hike in global commodity prices.
“Cement sector took a major correction today due to spike in international coal prices, whereas participation was observed in exploration and production and oil marketing companies’ stocks as international oil prices made a record-high $111.47,” the report stated.
Meanwhile, healthy participation was observed during the day, as value investors accumulated blue-chip stocks across the board.
Sectors contributing to the performance included cement (-84.3 points), fertiliser (-59.4 points), banks (-58.5 points), power (-30.2 points) and investment banks (-29.8 points).
Shares of 354 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 114 scrips closed in the green, 215 in the red, and 25 remained unchanged.
Overall trading volumes dropped to 235.03 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 309.34 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs9.34 billion.
TRG Pakistan was the volume leader with 21.92 million shares traded, gaining Rs4.29 to close at Rs78.72. It was followed by Telecard Limited with 15.11 million shares traded, losing Rs0.30 to close at Rs14.66, and Hum Network Limited with 12.76 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.24 to close at Rs7.41.
