KARACHI: Share prices witnessed a session of sideways movement on the Pakistan Stock Exchange amid a lack of clear market direction on Tuesday, said Topline Securities.

Stocks closed on the lower side because of investors’ concerns about a slump in the rupee’s value against the dollar coupled with economic uncertainty, according to Arif Habib Corporation analyst Ahsan Mehanti.

The rupee fell 1.88 against the dollar in interbank trading, extending its losses from the previous week.

The greenback was changing hands in the interbank market at a record Rs299.01 at close.

In addition, dismal data on textile exports, which dropped 11.4 per cent in July, also dampened the investors’ sentiments. Inflation worries amid a rupee fall as well as political noise also played the role of a catalyst in the bearish close, he added.

As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 47,417.9 points, down 30.06 points or 0.06pc from the preceding session.

The overall trading volume decreased 12pc to 185.7 million shares. The traded value also decreased 12pc to Rs6.2 billion on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (25.8m shares), Nishat Power Ltd (16m shares), Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (13.6m shares), Dewan Automotive Engineering Ltd (11.9m shares) and JS Bank Ltd (9.8m shares).

Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Bhanero Textile Mills Ltd (Rs49), Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (Rs23.93), Towellers Ltd (Rs11.58), Khyber Tobacco Company Ltd (Rs8.63) and Pakistan Services Ltd (Rs6).

Companies that recorded the biggest declines in their share prices in absolute terms were Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd (Rs29), Exide Pakistan Ltd (Rs20.50), Lucky Core Industries Ltd (Rs18.80), Haleon Pakistan Ltd (Rs10.90) and Gadoon Textile Mills Ltd (Rs8.13).

Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $0.26m.

Published in Dawn, August 23th, 2023