Market watch: Lacklustre activity at bourse results in negative close

Benchmark KSE-100 index falls 66.30 points.

KARACHI: The bourse began the week on a dull note in the absence of substantial activity on Monday. Though the stock index opened in the black, it made a sluggish retreat towards the red zone.

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index ended the trading session with a fall of 0.20% or 66.30 points at 33,926.70.

Elixir Securities analyst Jawwad Aboobakar said that equities ended the day marginally negative after a positive opening.



“The day saw turnover tumble by over 50% as compared to Friday and 35% below previous week’s average,” said Aboobakar. “Lack of immediate triggers and caution near 34,000 points led to the lowest turnover since October last year.”

Lucky Cement’s (-0.3%) earnings were more or less a non-event for the market and the overall cement sector struggled to find a clear direction as investors preferred to wait for clarity after DG Khan Cement updated them on its expansion programme.

Aboobakar said that Engro Corporation (-1.3%) that had set the tone of the wider market in recent sessions, struggled while financial shares traded mixed.

JS Global analyst Ovais Ahsan said that the market kicked off the week on a bearish note as profit-taking was recorded across the board.

“The participants cited futures rollover this week as a key cause of concern as total contract positions stood at over Rs8 billion.”



“Nishat Chunian Power (+4.3%) led the power producers ahead of its results (Tuesday) as the company is expected to announce a cash payout of Rs1.5 per share and EPS of Rs4.25 for 1HFY15.”

Ahsan said the textile sector remained mostly subdued, led by Kohinoor Textile Mills (-3.1%), as textile exports depicted a meagre growth of 1% year-on-year for the first seven months of FY15.

Trade volumes fell to 172 million shares compared to 261 million on Friday.

Shares of 362 companies were traded. Of these, 212 declined, 126 closed higher and 24 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.9 billion.

Jahangir Siddiqui and Company was the volume leader with 11.6 million shares, losing Rs0.22 to close at Rs22.06. It was followed by Pak Elektron with 10.7 million shares, losing Rs0.13 to close at Rs60.53 and Ghani Automobile with 10.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.79 to close at Rs6.16.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs74 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, February 24^th, 2015.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.