KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) failed to overcome selling pressure for the second day in a row as investors opted for materialising profits followed by an almost two-week-long bullish rally. The benchmark index retreated and closed below 47,000 points mark today.
The Karachi Share Index (KSE-100) ended the day 370.36 points (0.77 per cent) down at 47,777.62 points against the previous closing of 48,147.98 points. The market went as high as 48,312.51 points during intra-day trading, while recorded as low as 47,726.47 points.
Trading volumes inclined to 1.3 billion shares today, as compared to 1.042 billion shares yesterday, while the daily traded value also inched down to Rs 23.1 billion from Rs 23.9 billion in the previous session, the data said.
The main reason was the profit-taking due to an increase in prices that touched the levels attractive for investors to book some gains. It was expected that after an upward rally the market will take some correction for a day or two to consolidate, traders and analysts said. The market is expected to regain upward trend as soon as the share prices reach reinvestment levels, they added.
The market started the day in a positive mode that pushed the benchmark Index near to 48,500 points levels in the first 20 minutes of the trade. The physiological barrier proved strong as the selling pressure due to profit-taking triggered the correction and led the index to retreat in negative territory. Despite several attempts of recovery the market remained in a bearish mood.
The share price of Island Textile increased by Rs154.12 to Rs2,209.12 while Indus Motor Company gained Rs60.34 to Rs1,335.60. On the other hand, Rafhan Maize lost Rs190 today to close at Rs9,600 while Nestle Pakistan lost Rs61.07 to close at Rs5,715.12.
