Bears continued to dominate the trading floor of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday as shares traded in the red and lost nearly 500 points.

According to the PSX website, the KSE-100 index closed at 63,813.06 points, down 484.94 or 0.75 per cent from the previous close of 64,298.00.

After rallying for three consecutive sessions, the benchmark index faltered yesterday on uncertainty about whether the International Monetary Fund would give its go-ahead to the government’s plans for reducing industrial power tariff and energy sector circular debt.

The caretaker prime minister had on Wednesday directed the energy ministry to formulate an effective and durable strategy to do away with the circular debt.

Speaking to Dawn.com today, Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited, noted that the market remained particularly volatile ahead of the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting — which is due on Jan 29.

“Investors remained cautious and booked profit while the KSE-100 index declined,” he said.

According to a survey conducted by brokerage firm Topline Securities, 68pc of key market participants expected no change in the key policy rate while 32pc predicted a reduction.