KARACHI: The bearish spell continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange for a third day on Wednesday as weak economic cues played on investors’ mind and dragged the benchmark KSE-100 index lower.
Constant depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar coupled with concerns over the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) ongoing review of Pakistan kept market trading in a narrow range throughout the day.
Adding fuel to the fire, the impending gas shortage in the country took a toll on investor sentiment as the market expected the government to use expensive furnace oil to meet energy needs of the country, which would spark a fresh wave of inflation.
Earlier, trading began on a positive note, however, the lack of positive triggers pulled the KSE-100 index into negative territory within the first hour.
As uncertainty prevailed, the index oscillated between red and green zones throughout the day. The market saw significant profit-booking in the final hour and resultantly, it closed with a loss.
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decrease of 86.44 points, or 0.18%, to settle at 47,900.70.
