After undergoing a volatile ride yesterday, the index nose-dived today. At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decrease of 632 points or 1.54%, to settle at 40,565 points.
During the day the index saw a high of 41,197 and a low of 40,492.
Fears of another lockdown that would result in economic slowdown dented investors’ sentiment.
Oil prices held steady on Thursday as traders tempered expectations of an early release of a COVID-19 vaccine and the IEA raised doubts about a quick demand rebound amid surging infections in Europe and the United States.
Brent crude was up 8 cents, or 0.2%, at $43.88 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 10 cents, or 0.2%, to $41.55 a barrel.
Stocks around the world fell following their U.S. counterparts lower, with U.S. stocks falling more than 200 points in the early hours of Thursday morning, after a strong previous session for tech stocks.
The rally earlier in the week for stocks dependent on a recovery was prompted by the announcement from Pfizer and BioNTech on Monday, that the companies’ Covid-19 vaccine candidate appeared to be more than 90% effective in its phase three clinical trial.
