Market watch: Late profit-taking pushes index in red

Benchmark KSE-100 index falls 136 points.

KARACHI: Continuing with Wednesday’s momentum, the index started on a positive note and quickly rose to 26,850 levels on Thursday, before late selling mainly on profit-taking, wiped morning gains and pulled the index in red.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index fell 0.51% or 136.01 points to end at 26,541.26.

Market analyst Muhammad Raza Rawjani of Elixir Securities stated that the index surge was led by Engro Corporation (ENGRO PA +2.3%), where expectations of a stock dividend excited investors, Bank Alfalah (BAFL PA +0.4%) that continues to trade higher over valuations and the expected Warid sale in March.

“The excitement carried on to other blue chip stocks in oils, cements and textiles pushing Pakistan Oilfields (POL PA -0.4%), Pakistan State Oil (PSO PA +0.42%) and Nishat Mills (NML PA +0.34%) while second-tiers also provided good day trade opportunities,”Rawjani said.



Meanwhile, Ovais Ahsan  of JS Global Capital said the market corrected -0.51% driven down by index heavyweights like Oil and Gas Development Companies (-2.23%) and MCB (-1.32%) as concerns of foreign portfolio investor selling kept people on the backfoot.

“PSO +0.42% and Engro (+2.31%) rallied ahead of the Economic Coordination Committee meeting which could potentially decide on an increase in Oil Margin Company’s dealer margins and approval of concessionary gas to the latter’s fertiliser plant,” said Ahsan.

Trade volumes on Thursday fell to 276 million shares compared with Wednesday’s tally of 284 million.



The value of shares traded during the day was Rs10.79 billion.

Faysal Bank was the volume leader with 19.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.15 to finish at Rs13.12. It was followed by the Bank of Punjab with 18.25 million shares, losing Rs0.31 to close at Rs2.04 and Adamjee Insurance with 13.75 million shares, gaining Rs1.93 to close at Rs42.76.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs320 million, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2014.

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