KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange remained under pressure during the past trading week, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing 2,938 points, or 1.63%, as investors saw nearly Rs247.33 billion wiped off the market’s capitalization.
The KSE-100 Index closed the week at 177,167 points. During the week, the index reached a high of 181,159 points and a low of 176,111 points.
The market’s average daily trading volume declined 0.9% from the previous week to 845.7 million shares.
However, the average daily value of shares traded increased 7.6% to $148 million.
Meanwhile, the overall market capitalization fell by about Rs247 billion during the week to Rs19.883 trillion.
More read, KSE-100 index ends week lower on US-Iran tensions
Earlier, Pakistan’s stock market closed lower during the business week, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index declining 0.7% to 180,105 points.
On a weekly basis, the index shed 1,325 points, with analysts attributing the decline mainly to tensions between the United States and Iran and uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude oil prices also remained a key concern for investors, rising above $90 per barrel during the week before easing to around $86 per barrel.
Despite the overall decline, average daily trading volume increased 13% week-on-week to 1.1 billion shares, indicating improved investor participation.
Analysts said positive external and economic developments provided some support to investor confidence, while strong corporate earnings also helped limit the market’s losses.
The oil and gas exploration, oil marketing, banking and fertilizer sectors showed positive trends, while power generation and cement stocks remained under pressure. The automobile sector remained largely neutral.
Analysts expect cautious sentiment to prevail in the stock market in the near term, with crude oil prices and geopolitical developments likely to remain key factors determining market direction.
