Market moves southwards as economic troubles mount

The shares market saw a range-bound session on Monday as investors remained concerned about mounting inflation as well as other economic and political challenges. Arif Habib Ltd said no materialisation of the promised funds from friendly nations kept investors’ sentiments in check. Volatility marred the benchmark index, which moved sideways owing to the continuous flight of the dollar against the rupee. The local currency depreciated 0.71 per cent on Monday against the greenback to close at 229.82 in the interbank market. Analysts expect a rising import bill amidst devastating floods that have destroyed standing crops in most parts of the country. As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 41,862.29 points, down 85.87 points or 0.2pc from the preceding close. The trading volume increased 10.1pc to 161.4 million shares while the traded value went down 18.2pc to $25.4m on a day-on-day basis.