Market watch: KSE-100 falls amid sharply lower trading volumes

Benchmark index decreases 276.49 points to settle at 38,309.17

KARACHI: Stocks endured a dull trading session on Monday as volumes remained low in the absence of any positive triggers.

The KSE-100 index opened on a negative note and maintained a steady decline throughout the day. Investors largely remained on the sidelines as they awaited clarity on economic issues.

At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 276.49 points or 0.72% to settle at 38,309.17.

Elixir Securities' analyst Murtaza Jafar said the benchmark KSE-100 index traded under pressure amid lacklustre volumes due to lack of triggers in the broader market.

"Just 46 million shares were traded on the KSE-100 index while only 69 million shares changed hands in the KSE All-Share market - the lowest trading activity since June 1, 2018," Jafar said.



"Going forward, we expect investors to await clarity on the IMF front as the government of Pakistan is likely to submit the Letter of Intent (LOI) before December 19 for a possible bailout programme from the Fund."

Overall, trading volumes slumped to 66.8 million shares compared with Friday's tally of 98.5 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs2.78 billion.

Shares of 311 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 113 stocks closed higher, 176 declined and 22 remained unchanged.

The Bank of Punjab was the volume leader with 10.04 million shares, gaining Rs0.21 to close at Rs12.95. It was followed by K-Electric with 6.88 million shares, gaining Rs0.15 to close at Rs5.80 and Fauji Foods with 3.73 million shares, gaining Rs0.81 to close at Rs33.38.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs126.1 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.