Market watch: Bourse falls amid thin volumes

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s benchmark 100-share index lost 0.27 per cent or 31.8 points to end at 11,874.07 points.

KARACHI:

The stock market kicked off the week with a lacklustre session, in line with regional markets, amid low activity.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index lost 0.27 per cent or 31.8 points to end at 11,874.07 points.

Limited institutional and foreign interest was witnessed despite quarterly corporate results season about to start, said Topline Securities equity dealer Samar Iqbal. Corporate earnings are due to be announced in coming weeks.

Trade volumes dropped to a paltry 60.31 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 68.1 million shares.

Shares of 362 companies were traded on Monday. At the end of the day, 108 stocks closed higher, 166 declined and 88 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs1.96 billion.

Second-tier stocks dominated the volume chart, with Nimir Industrial Chemical, DG Khan Cement, Pace (Pak) and Jahangir Siddiqui and Company making up 24 per cent of the total market volume.

DG Khan (R) was the volume leader with 5.04 million shares, gaining Rs4.55 to finish at Rs4.56. It was followed by Nimir Industrial Chemical, with 4.15 million shares, gaining Rs0.1 to close at Rs3.27, on confirmation that the firm has been acquired by Z M Associates. DG Khan Cement was third in the volumes chart, with 3.98 million shares, losing Rs1.29 to close at Rs24.63.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th,  2011.