The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened the week in the red, with the benchmark KSE-100 index losing 605 points to close at 39,666.

The index opened higher but could not sustain the momentum and took a downward path to hit a day's low of 39,396 points towards the session's close.

In all, 147.5 million shares worth Rs6.1 billion were traded at the exchange. Of the 330 scrips traded, 84 advanced, 216 declined and 30 remained unchanged.

Commercial banking sector dominated trading by a margin with 50m shares traded.

The "market couldn't sustain the gains for long as reported foreign institutional selling in the sector dragged the market into red zone. As the day progressed, a drop in Pakistani rupee against US dollar to Rs128/USD took the market off-guard as most steel, autos and cement names witnessed renewed selling pressure by local funds on concerns of lower than expected earning in Fiscal Year 2019," Elixir securities said.

Volumes were led by:

  1. Bank Of Punjab: 25.2m shares traded [-1.48pc];

  2. Fauji Cement Co Ltd: 10.5m shares traded [-4.85pc];

  3. Bank Islami Pakistan Ltd: 9.1m shares traded [+2.66pc];

  4. Engro Polymer and Chemicals Ltd: 5.9m shares traded [-3.37pc];

  5. K-Electric Limited: 5.7m shares traded [-3.02pc].

Follow Dawn Business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Plugging the gap
06 May, 2024

Plugging the gap

IN Pakistan, bias begins at birth for the girl child as discriminatory norms, orthodox attitudes and poverty impede...
Terrains of dread
Updated 06 May, 2024

Terrains of dread

Restored faith in the police is unachievable without political commitment and interprovincial support.
Appointment rules
06 May, 2024

Appointment rules

IT appears that, despite years of wrangling over the issue, the country’s top legal minds remain unable to decide...
Hasty transition
Updated 05 May, 2024

Hasty transition

Ostensibly, the aim is to exert greater control over social media and to gain more power to crack down on activists, dissidents and journalists.
One small step…
05 May, 2024

One small step…

THERE is some good news for the nation from the heavens above. On Friday, Pakistan managed to dispatch a lunar...
Not out of the woods
05 May, 2024

Not out of the woods

PAKISTAN’S economic vitals might be showing some signs of improvement, but the country is not yet out of danger....