KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) failed to sustain the bullish outlook seen in the previous week as the global markets came under pressure due to unclear situation about COVID-19 vaccine and its outcome. The oil and energy stocks came under profit taking as the commodity fell further in the international market.
The Karachi Share Index (KSE-100) lost 204.32 points (0.44 per cent) after closing at 45,726.68 points against the previous closing of 45,931 points. The market went as high as 46,066.48 points during intra-day trading, while recorded as low as 45,712.07 points.
The investment strategy of booking profits and stop losses remained dominant amongst investors, especially in energy, oil and technology stocks. The decline in international oil prices on the back of some negative news on the pandemic front gave investors a strong reason to book profits, analyst and traders said.
Trading volume increased to 543.64 million shares today as compared to 531.06 million traded in the previous session, according to PSX website data. The daily traded value increased to Rs 21.65 billion from Rs 17.84 billion in the previous session, the data said.
The market opened on a bullish note on the back of fresh buying in selective stocks. The investors seemed interested in taking fresh positions to cover the gap created in previous two days corrections. However, it was unable to sustain momentum at higher levels as broad profit-taking by local institutions pared intraday gains leading to profit taking under fresh uncertainty rising on pandemic front.
Oil prices fell on Monday over reported deaths of some elderly people after getting the COVID-19 vaccine, while the number of COVID-19 cases is still surging to negatively affect oil demand recovery expectations.
International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $54.84 per barrel at 0646 GMT for a 0.47% fall after closing Wednesday at $55.10 a barrel.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $52.23 per barrel at the same time for a 0.25% decrease after it ended the previous session at $52.36 a barrel.
The share price of Rafhan Maize increased by Rs 99 to Rs 9,600 while AKD Capital gained Rs 30.78 to Rs 441.31. On the other hand, Nestle Pakistan lost Rs 158.80 today to close at Rs 6,455.01 while Philip Morris Pakistan lost Rs 62.77 to close at Rs 1,437.23.
