Stocks continue to decline over night as inflation rises.

Editorial Team

26 August 2022, 05:05 PKT 1 min read

Opening Trends: The KSE-100 index began positively but soon stagnated, reflecting investor caution amidst rising inflation and political instability.
Profit-Taking: A last-hour sell-off for profit realization pushed the index into negative territory, highlighting the fragile market sentiment.
Currency Depreciation: The Pakistani rupee's continued depreciation against the dollar, losing 0.47% to stand at 219.41, exacerbated concerns, influencing market mood negatively.
Taxation and IMF Meeting: New taxes, in anticipation of an IMF review, further dented share prices, contributing to the bearish trend.
Closing Figures: The KSE-100 index closed at 43,032.57, down by 305.4 points, marking a 0.7% decrease from the previous week.

Decreased Activity: Trading volumes fell by 18.9% to 208.1 million shares, with the total traded value also dropping by 11% to $35.5 million.

Active Stocks: WorldCall Telecom, Hascol Petroleum, Pakistan International Airlines, Nishat Chunian Power, and Telecard were among the most traded shares.
Sectoral Impact: Power generation, fertilizers, exploration and production, banking, and technology sectors were the major contributors to the index's decline.

Gainers: Sanofi-Aventis Pakistan, Reliance Cotton Spinning Mills, Premium Textile Mills, Lucky Cement, and Hafiz Ltd saw notable increases.
Losers: Sapphire Textile Mills, along with Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan, Mari Petroleum, ICI Ltd, and Siemens Pakistan, experienced significant drops.

Investor Sentiment: Foreign investors emerged as net buyers, injecting $0.5 million into the market, indicating some level of international confidence despite domestic challenges.