LAHORE - The KSE 100-index of Pakistan Stock Exchange Thursday marginally opened positive but soon succumbed to the pressure and closed down by 450 points at 44,747 points, after making an intra-day high of +0.1 percent and a low of -1.4 percent. Selling pressure was witnessed across the board as investors opted to book profits as political environment remained heated.
Volumes increased to 144m shares versus 131m shares traded previously. BOP (-2.0 percent) and LOTCHEM (-3.4 percent) from the banking and chemical sector were the major volume leaders of the day. Yesterday's major laggards were HBL (-3.2 percent), UBL (-2.5 percent), PPL (-1.7 percent), MCB (-1.2 percent) and FFC (-1.3 percent), contributing -215 points. Selling pressure continued in the banking space where big banks such as HBL (-3.2 percent), UBL (-2.5 percent), NBP (-1.2 percent) and MCB (-1.2 percent) lost value to close in the red zone.
E&P sector closed negative as crude oil prices edged lower in the international market where POL (-1.2 percent) and PPL (-1.7 percent) closed in the negative zone. Moving forward, it is expected of the market to exhibit volatility in the coming sessions due to overall political ambiguities in the market.