Trading remained rangebound on Tuesday with the index showing little change. The KSE100 index lost 155 points to settle at 48,148.

The index was in the green during early hours of trading. However, it soon receded into the red from which it was unable to make a comeback during the remainder of trading.

Uncertainty at the local exchange can be attributed to the upcoming IMF talks along with announcement of the fiscal budget for the year. Investors are keeping eyes peeled towards what kind of incentives industries may receive in the upcoming budget. Market participation also saw a decline as some investors are waiting on the sidelines until the uncertainty clears up.

Markets across Asia were generally positive on track to post MSCI’s All-Country World index high. Global equity markets are closely eyeing the G-7 summit and the landmark deal on the world corporate tax rate. A minimum corporate tax rate of 15% across the board is beneficial for tech giants such as Facebook and Microsoft because it enables predictability in future tax obligations.

At the closing bell 134 companies had advanced with 244 closing in the red. 16 scrips remained unchanged.

Market participation for the KSE100 Index increased to 265M from 320M in the previous session (-17% on d/d basis). Major contribution to total market volume came from WTL, BYCO and HUMNL combined for 473M shares out of the total market volume of 1,041M shares.