The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a significant contraction in investor participation on Tuesday, with overall traded value nosediving, even as the benchmark indices concluded the session in positive territory.
The KSE-100 index, a key barometer of the market, added 465.64 points to close at 151,673.46, representing a modest increase of 0.31 per cent. The day was marked by considerable volatility, with the index fluctuating between a high of 152,013.05 and a low of 149,129.41.
Similarly, the KSE-30 index registered an advance, climbing 239.59 points, or 0.52 per cent, to settle at 45,938.83. The index traversed a wide range from an intraday peak of 46,053.54 to a bottom of 44,980.33.
Despite the gains on the indices, trading activity saw a substantial decline. The turnover in the regular market dropped to 357.27 million shares from the 457.21 million shares traded in the previous session.
The reduction was more pronounced in monetary terms, as the traded value in the regular market plummeted to PKR 20.44 billion, a stark contrast to the PKR 30.88 billion recorded a day earlier.
Reflecting the upward movement of the indices, the overall market capitalisation expanded, rising to PKR 16,855.56 billion from the previous day”s figure of PKR 16,822.76 billion.