Connect with us

Business

Trading volumes drop to 20-month low at PSX

Published

on

  • Political unrest, rupee depreciation add to woes of local investors.
  • KSE-100 index sheds 286.44 points to settle at 43,366.89.
  • Shares of 334 companies were traded during the session.

 KARACHI: Trading volumes at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) dropped to a 20-month low on Monday with 115 million shares changing hands during the trading session.

Overall trading volumes declined to 115.11 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 149.29 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs3.64 billion.

The lacklustre performance at the bourse was witnessed due to rising political unrest in the country in the wake of a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Moreover, the depreciation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar — which dropped to an all-time low of Rs178.98 — coupled with rising commodity prices in the international market added fuel to the downtrend.

Investor interest was mostly witnessed in the fertiliser sector over increasing urea prices where Engro Fertiliser, Fauji Fertiliser and Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim closed on a higher note

At the close, the benchmark KSE-100 index shed 286.44 points, or 0.66%, to settle at 43,366.89 points.

Benchmark KSE-100 index intra-day trading curve. — PSX data portal
Benchmark KSE-100 index intra-day trading curve. — PSX data portal

Arif Habib Limited in its post-market commentary noted that a range-bound session was observed today due to political unrest.

“The market opened in the green zone and stayed volatile throughout the day,” it said, adding that mainboard activity remained dull.

On the flip-side, activity continued to remain side-ways as the market witnessed hefty volumes in the third-tier stocks. The brokerage house stated that in the last trading hour, across the board selling was witnessed which led the index to close in the red zone.

Sectors contributing to the performance included exploration and production (-57.7 points), banks (-56.7 points), cement (-56.5 points), technology (-52.2 points) and power (-29 points).

Shares of 334 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 79 scrips closed in the green, 242 in the red, and 13 remained unchanged.

Flying Cement was the volume leader with 11.6 million shares traded, losing Rs0.10 to close at Rs0.16. It was followed by Pak Elektron with 8.14 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.18 to close at Rs2, and Ghani Global Holdings with 7.02 million shares traded, losing Rs0.64 to close at Rs14.68.

Business

The inaugural flight of Azerbaijan Airlines is between Baku and Karachi.

Published

on

By

The national airline of Azerbaijan launched direct flights from Baku to Karachi today. There will be two weekly flights on this route, on Thursdays and Sundays.

The first flight will land in Karachi, and Azerbaijan’s ambassador, Khazar Farhadov, will be there to greet it.

This evening also marks the departure of the inaugural flight from Karachi to Baku, in addition to the arrival of the flight from Baku.

Azerbaijan Airlines said last month that it would be growing its network and flight operations in Pakistan.

Aviation insiders have verified that Azerbaijan Airlines is preparing to launch service to Karachi in the coming month of April.

In addition to its current services in Islamabad and Lahore, the airline plans to launch its Karachi route on April 18, with the inaugural flight anticipated to depart on that date.

Azerbaijan Airlines has been given permission to operate flights on the Karachi route, according to sources within the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Following a bilateral agreement between the two nations, Azerbaijan Airlines has been given permission to extend its operations in Pakistan.

Continue Reading

Business

Fly Jinnah opens a new route internationally.

Published

on

By

Two weekly flights will be the starting frequency of the new route, which will connect the two cities.

According to a representative for Fly Jinnah, the company is pleased to announce the opening of a third international route from Islamabad to Muscat, the capital city of Oman, marking another significant milestone after the successful debut of flights from Islamabad and Lahore to Sharjah.

According to him, this development is in line with our goal of giving our clients more options for reasonably priced, value-driven local and international air travel.

The airline serves five main cities in Pakistan: Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Quetta. Its fleet consists of five Airbus A320 aircraft, all of which are contemporary.

In addition to the current flight path to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, this new route expands Fly Jinnah’s network of foreign destinations.

Continue Reading

Business

Tajir Dost app: traders don’t seem interested in registering

Published

on

By

To tax retailers in Pakistan, the Tajir Dost app was released. The sources stated that the government hopes to tax 3.5 million merchants through the app.

Ajmal Baloch, the president of All-Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran, stated that he made reservations with FBR on the SRO within a week.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), according to him, cannot be a “Tajir Dost” because of its unethical actions.

Baloch believed that since electricity bills allow traders to pay a predetermined advance income tax, further taxes are unnecessary.

The trader, according to him, is already paying thirteen different kinds of taxes on the commercial meter. “A trader already pays between Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 20,000 in taxes annually, but you are requesting Rs. 1,200 per month in taxes.”

Mr. Ajmal summoned representatives of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to a meeting with the trade associations to talk about the indirect taxes that the merchants are paying.

Additionally, he claimed that FBR officers are charging the traders, the majority of whom are less educated, “monthly charges.”

Continue Reading

Trending