KARACHI: The index remained lacklustre with low volumes traded on the final day of the week to end in the red. However, it was still able to sustain its level over 30,000.
At close, the Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index fell 0.26% or 78.36 points to end at 30,015.80.
“The top 10 volume leaders remained third-tier stocks, reflecting lack of interest from institutional investors amid the absence of immediate triggers and the end of the results’ season,” said Sibtain Mustafa of Elixir Securities.
“Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC PA -.6%) again dented the sentiment with the fear of deeper discount to the market in the coming secondary offering pulling this index heavy name to test new recent lows.
“Cements that have been topping volumes lately were mixed as investors see a breather in most small and mid-cap names amid lower domestic off-take.
“Illiquid were in focus and traded against market direction with pharmaceuticals and autos leading on local interest.
“We see no change in the interest rates as the State Bank of Pakistan announces monetary policy for two months, while investors will monitor developments on the political front over the weekend and hope for some positive news flow,” Mustafa said.
“Moreover, any update on the macros will help the market find a clear direction with index continuing to trade in a narrow range and test support at 28,850,” he concluded.
Trade volumes fell to 150 million shares compared to Thursday’s tally of 186 million.
Shares of 412 companies were traded on the last trading session of the week. Of these, 157 companies declined, 238 closed higher while 17 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day stood at Rs5.22 billion.
LPCL was the volume leader with 18 million shares, losing Rs0.03 to close at Rs17.04. It was followed by Summit Bank with 10.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.42 to close at Rs3.60 and Dewan Motors with 10.1 million shares, gaining Rs1 to close at Rs7.03.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs331 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 20th, 2014.
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