Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) fell flat on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index losing 6.55 points to close at 42,744 after a volatile trading session.
The index opened higher and surged past the 43,000-mark to touch a day's high of 43,087 before profit-taking was triggered after the Supreme Court dismissed the National Bank of Pakistan's appeal in a pension liability case which will significantly affect its profitability, a note from Elixir Securities said.
"Political uncertainty amid the uncertain outcome of NAB references against the former prime minister and finance minister [...] played a catalyst role in the negative close," Ahsan Mehanti of the Arif Habib Corporation said.
Of the 364 symbols traded in the market, 124 advanced, 218 declined and 22 remain unchanged. Nearly 126 million shares worth Rs6.9 billion were traded in the day, with commercial banks dominating trading with 21.6m shares traded.
Volumes were led by:
Aisha Steel Mill: 7.8m shares traded [+0.63pc]
K-Electric Ltd: 7.3m shares traded [+0.64pc]
Fauji Fert: 6.4m shares traded [+4.97pc]
WorldCall Telecom: 5.3m shares traded [+0.28pc]
Dost Steels Ltd: 4.9m shares traded [+4.15pc]
