KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) Tuesday went down by 418.73 points following profit taking by the investors and year-end closing.
The Karachi Share Index (KSE-100) closed down by 418.73 points (0.96 per cent) after closing at 43,255.55 points against the previous closing of 43,674.28 points. The market went up 43,912.10 points during intra-day trading, while recorded as low as 43,203.68 points.
According to PSX website data, trading volume decreased to 296.47 million shares today compared to 463.41 million traded in the previous session. The daily traded value decreased to Rs 14,764 billion from Rs 18.892 billion in the previous session, the data said.
According to an analyst of AKD Securities, the market opened on a buoyant note in line with global counterparts and reports highlighting robust textile orders for the next six months coupled with reported hike in cement bag prices.
However, the market was unable to sustain momentum at higher levels as a risk-off environment set in over news reports highlighting that the new coronavirus variant first detected in the UK has been detected in Sindh in 3 UK returnees, the analyst said.
In this backdrop, profit-taking likely by retail and local institutions was witnessed ahead of the year-end closing driven by Cements, Banks and Energy, he claimed.
In terms of volumes, the overall market traded 622 million shares. UNITY recorded the highest volumes for the day with 41 million shares traded, followed by KEL (38 million shares traded) and TRG (28 million shares traded). HBL contributed the most to the index decline (down 2.78%) while SEARL provided the biggest boost (up 2.56%) to the benchmark.
