Equities retreat after three-session rally

Dawn reported that the Pakistan Stock Exchange closed lower on Thursday as investors booked profits after a three-session recovery. The benchmark KSE-100 ended at 170,498.95 points, shedding 1,733.57 points or 1.01 per cent, within an intraday range of 170,418.38 to 172,491.17. Topline Securities said the selling intensified in the second half of trade.

Higher oil prices and worries about inflation weighed on sentiment, with Brent crude trading above $100 per barrel amid Middle East tensions. Discussions with the IMF delegation in the country, a march call by PTI on the Capital, and a possible US ban on diesel exports added to the uncertainty. Ali Najib of Arif Habib Ltd said market sentiment stayed subdued after the jump in international oil rates.

On the corporate front, Attock Refinery, National Refinery and Cnergyico signed agreements with state-owned Inter State Gas Systems (ISGS) to upgrade their facilities under Pakistan's Oil Refining Policy for Upgradation. Trading volume fell 1.76 per cent to 759.9m shares compared with the previous session, while turnover value rose 4.10 per cent to Rs27.5bn.