Karachi: Pakistan’s stock market came under profit-taking as investors chose a cautious approach at inflated levels. The KSE-100 index closed with losses on Wednesday.
The Karachi Share Index (KSE-100) lost 226.29 points (0.49 per cent) after closing at 45,676.94 points against the previous closing of 45,903.23 points. The market went as high as 45,903.23 points during intra-day trading, while recorded as low as 45,546.15 points.
Trading volume declined to 476.6 million shares today as compared to 491.78 million traded in the previous session, according to PSX website data. The daily traded value declined to Rs 19.13 billion from Rs 19.93 billion in the previous session, the data said.
The market opened on a bearish note on the back of corrections followed by the previous day rise and profit taking. KSE-100 index opened the day in negative and reached down to 45,637 points with decline of 266 points in the first ten minutes of the trade. The stocks at the inflated price levels mainly on back of unconfirmed market talks were offloaded by the investors. The bearish spell kept the market in negative territory throughout the day.
There were some negative news regarding energy sector that also overshadowed the oil price gains in the international market for the local oil and energy stocks, traders and analyst said.
The news related to the default by LNG supplier had negative impact on energy stocks that triggered profit taking despite favourable prices in international market, they added.
Oil prices climbed with U.S. stock markets on Tuesday ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration as U.S. president on optimism that more government stimulus will eventually lift global economic growth.
The share price of Island Textile increased by Rs 128.71 to Rs 1,844.94 while Sapphire Textile gained Rs 26.34 to Rs 1,041.33. On the other hand, Rafan Maize lost Rs 89.99 today to close at Rs 9,900 while AKD Capital lost Rs 33.69 to close at Rs 415.64.
