Stocks extend losses on poor economic conditions
Share prices moved both ways on Wednesday before settling on the lower side as a result of uncertain macroeconomic conditions. Arif Habib Ltd said the volume for mainboard stocks dropped while third-tier companies continued their dominance on the trading counter. A lack of positive triggers on the market kept investors away from participation, said JS Global. According to analyst Ahsan Mehanti, dismal data on exports, down 16.6 per cent year-on-year, along with a drop in the cotton output by 37.23pc and a slump in petroleum sales by 11pc played a key role in in the bearish close. As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 40,539.30 points, down 91.34 points or 0.22pc from the preceding session. The overall trading volume decreased 28.9pc to 142.9 million shares. The traded value went down 12.9pc to $19.1m on a day-on-day basis. Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Dewan Farooque Motors Ltd (10.8m shares), Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd (10.7m shares), Al-Shaheer Corporation Ltd (9.3m shares), Sui Northern Pipelines Ltd (8.9m shares) and WorldCall Telecom Ltd (7.2m shares).