Staff Reporter
Karachi
Stocks on the Pakistan Stock Exchange plunged once again on Monday, an almost identical trajectory to the one witnessed on the previous trading day. This is amid rising Covid-19 cases in the country and around the world rattling investor sentiment, pushing the benchmark index down approximately 1,000 points within an hour of the opening bell.
The KSE-100 index was down 963.74 points at 38,924.26 by 12:55pm.
Commercial banks were among the top losers, followed by oil and gas exploration companies, cement, and oil and gas marketing companies.
“The market is under pressure due to the fear of a global lockdown amid rising coronavirus cases,” said Mohammad Sohail of Topline Securities.
“Overall sentiments are weak due to uncertainty on rising virus cases, falling oil prices and the likely impact of the US elections,” he added. Oil-related stocks were under pressure due to falling crude prices on account of worsening demand during lockdowns.
“The benchmark WTI oil price has fallen more than four per cent since last Friday to $34.5 per barrel, extending losses to approximately 12pc, on growing concerns that the rise in cases in Europe and the United States could hurt fuel consumption,” said Sherman Securities, a brokerage house.Coronavirus cases have been on the rise in Pakistan. Last week, the number of daily Covid-19 cases surpassed the 1,000 mark for the first time since the end of July.
