KARACHI: In a bearish session caused by high international commodity prices, the benchmark index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed on Tuesday at 44,666 points, down 377.93 points, or 0.84 per cent, from a day ago.

According to Topline Securities, a rally in coal prices caused a further drop in the cement sector. Cement stocks took away 170 points from the index, followed by technology stocks (99 points), fertiliser stocks (45 points), banking stocks (23 points) and oil and gas marketing stocks (17 points).

Discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are still ongoing with the hope of a near-term resolution and resumption of the loan programme, said Arif Habib Ltd. Besides the IMF programme-related worries, continued pressure on the rupee-dollar parity also caused concerns among investors, especially foreigners who have lately been net sellers.

Within the technology sector, Octopus Digital hit the upper circuit whereas other shares remained under pressure, especially TRG Pakistan that saw selling pressure despite expected high earnings.

The trading volume increased from 267.2 million shares to 334.7m, up 25pc on a daily basis. The average traded value also increased 34pc to reach $79.3m against $59.1m on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the trading volume included TeleCard Ltd, Azgard Nine Ltd, Ghani Global Holdings Ltd, WorldCall Telecom Ltd and Byco Petroleum Ltd. These stocks formed 30pc of the total turnover.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index included Mari Petroleum Ltd (74 points), United Bank Ltd (19 points), Hub Power Company (18 points), Pakistan Services Ltd (13 points) and Engro Polymer and Chemicals Ltd (11 points).

Stocks that contributed negatively to the benchmark included Lucky Cement (66 points), TRG Pakistan Ltd (65 points), Oil and Gas Development Company (34 points), Systems Ltd (27 points) and Maple Leaf Cement (24 points).

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2021