KARACHI (National Times)- The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) came under selling pressure on Thursday as investors took cue from the dismal corporate earning announcements, which dented investors sentiment.

Moreover, rising petroleum product prices and widening trade deficit sparked fears of increase in inflation in the country in the wake of rise in expensive imports.

The benchmark KSE-100 index spent most of the day in the red zone and ended with a drop of nearly 250 points.

Pakistan equities commenced the day on a negative note in the backdrop of below expectation corporate announcement. Initially, Engro Corporation announced the earnings for CY21 where company announced Re1 payout against the street expectation of Rs4-5.

Moreover, the news flow regarding resumption in Russia-Ukraine tension further deteriorated investors’ sentiment which triggered selling across the board.

At the close, the benchmark KSE-100 index sheds 243.70 points, or 0.53%, to settle at 45,441.10 points.

Shares of 348 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 99 scrips closed in the green, 229 in the red, and 20 remained unchanged.

Overall trading volumes rose to 152.9 million shares compared with Wednesday’s tally of 145.3 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.77 billion.

WorldCall Telecom Limited was the volume leader with 16.15 million shares traded, losing Rs0.06 to close at Rs1.96. It was followed by Hum Network Limited with 14.43 million shares traded, losing Rs0.24 to close at Rs7.26, and Telecard Limited with 10.46 million shares traded, losing Rs0.68 to close at Rs16.10.