KARACHI: Profit-taking dominated trading on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday.

Topline Securities said the shares market commenced the day on a positive note and hit an intraday high of 49 points. However, investors soon chose to book their gains in energy and fertiliser stocks.

Consequently, the KSE-100 index erased its morning gains and slid into the negative territory to close on the lower side.

Another highlight of the day was the rupee losing its value against the dollar. The local currency depreciated 1.16 per cent from a day ago and closed at 294.93. The rupee has so far lost 2.53pc in the last five sessions in interbank trading.

A double-digit decline in large-scale manufacturing for 2022-23 also dampened the investors’ sentiments.

As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 48,146.44 points, down 419.31 points or 0.86 per cent from the preceding session.

The overall trading volume decreased 22.7pc to 194.5 million shares. The traded value decreased 15.1pc to Rs7.6 billion on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included K-Electric Ltd (19.2m shares), Dewan Motors Ltd (14.1m shares), Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (10.9m shares), WorldCall Telecom Ltd (9.9m shares) and Cnergyico PK Ltd (8.3m shares).

Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Bata Pakistan Ltd (Rs44), Reliance Cotton Spinning Mills Ltd (Rs25.79), Exide Pakistan Ltd (Rs25.07), Atlas Battery Ltd (Rs18.55) and Baluchistan Wheels Ltd (Rs10.06).

Companies that recorded the biggest declines in their share prices in absolute terms were Allawasaya Textile and Finishing Mills Ltd (Rs140), Rafhan Maize Products Company Ltd (Rs100), Khyber Textile Mills Ltd (Rs65.84), Al-Ghazi Tractors Ltd (Rs23.13) and Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd (Rs19.93).

Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $1m.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2023