Market watch: Stocks fall following late bout of selling

Benchmark KSE-100 index drops 151 points.

KARACHI: The stock market opened on a positive note on Wednesday but failed to carry on the momentum as late selling pushed the index in the red.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index closed the day’s trading with a decline of 0.44% or 151.59 points at 34,386.86.

Elixir Securities analyst Haris Batla said lower-than-expected earnings announcement by Pakistan Oilfields Limited (-0.6%) in early trading kept the stock volatile, while Attock Refinery (-5%) went on to hit the lower price limit after posting negative earnings for the first half.



“Investors seem cautious over the 34,500 mark, opting to book profits in the wider market, resulting in first-tier cement, financial and textile stocks to close in the red,” he said.

“Volumes were lower by 31% against the previous session and were primarily dominated by small-cap retail players namely Jahangir Siddiqui and Co (+2%), K-Electric (-2%) and Maple Leaf Cement (-1.95).

Batla concluded that volatile trading should be expected in upcoming sessions due to the financial results and recommended selective buying.

JS Global analyst Arhum Ghous said moving forward, they expect the market to remain range-bound and any dips in the cement sector should be considered as a buying opportunity.

Trade volumes declined to 234 million shares compared to 340 million on Tuesday.

Shares of 367 companies were traded. Of these, 246 declined, 101 closed higher and 20 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs15.2 billion.



Jahangir Siddiqui and Company was the volume leader with 15.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.36 to close at Rs18.36. It was followed by K-Electric Limited with 14.2 million shares, losing Rs0.18 to close at Rs8.86 and Maple Leaf Cement with 11.2 million shares, losing Rs0.95 to close at Rs49.26.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs374 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, January 29^th,  2015.

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