Market watch: Stocks end week with low trading volumes

Benchmark KSE-100 index falls 112 points.

KARACHI: The stock market ended the week in the red zone, shedding almost 100 points in the second half before the close after experiencing a volatile day.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index fell 0.44% or 112.24 points to end at 25,257.79 points.

“Pakistan equities opened the last trading day of the week sideways, trading volatile before closing over 110 points in the red with late selling in index names, mainly comprising financials and telecoms, dragging the index down to close below 25,300 levels,” said Fawwad Aboobakar of Elixir Securities.



Pakistan Telecom (-5%) hit its lower price limit on reported institutional selling, while MCB Bank (-0.7%) and Oil and Gas Development Company (-0.4%) also dented investor sentiment.

However, textile stocks mainly Nishat Mills (+1.7%) and Nishat Chunian (+4.5%) bucked the broader market direction with the latter hitting its upper price limit during the day over increased investor interest, he said.

The textile industry had recently seen their share prices fall after Walt Disney revealed that it might stop sourcing merchandise from Pakistan on concerns over working conditions and worker safety.

“On the other hand, retail plays continued to churn out volumes with investor interest in stocks like Fauji Cement (+0.5%), Colony Mills (+4.3%), Pak Elektron (-0.6%) and Bank of Punjab (-1.5%),” Aboobakar added.

Many investors stayed on the sidelines in line with the lack of foreign interest because of Christmas and New Year.

Trade volumes remained almost steady at 191 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 190 million shares.

Shares of 393 companies were traded on Friday. At the end of the day, 188 stocks closed higher, 185 declined and 20 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.74 billion.



Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited was the volume leader with 14.9 million shares, losing Rs1.54 to finish at Rs29.35. It was followed by Fauji Cement with 8.48 million shares, gaining Rs0.03 to close at Rs15.37 and Nishat Chunian with 8.41 million shares, losing Rs2.8 to close at Rs59.84.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of
Rs84 million worth of shares, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2013.

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