The PSX witnessed a sharp decline on Thursday with the KSE-100 index losing 1298.86 points to settle at 39,888.

A second wave of the coronavirus could be attributed to the sharp decline on the last day of trading before an extended weekend. Market participation for the index increased 375M from 258M in the previous session.

The NCOC in a meeting held on earlier in the day announced fresh restrictions with respect to the stark increase in coronavirus cases. Wearing of protective face covering was made mandatory and a warning was issued that further restrictions will follow in case SOPs are not followed.

Banks were seen taking the greatest number of points from the index with a negative impact of 489 points during the current week. Cement shares were largely seen as gainers during the week as gross margins improved in the industry across the board.

Foreigners remained net sellers as the global economy continues to take hit and foreign institutions opt for a lower risk appetite.

Major contribution to total market volume came from UNITY, MLCF and PIBTL churning 138mn shares out of the total market volume of 541mn shares. Daily traded value for the 100 Index increased to USD 103M from USD 76M in the previous session.