Market watch: Foreign selling continues, but index up 698 points

Benchmark 100 index increases 2.11%, settles at 33,798.8.

KARACHI: Pakistan equities bounced back after the disastrous downfall on the opening day of the week, ending Tuesday with healthy gains on signs that the rout in regional equities is easing.

The wider market traded positive at open and took investors for a roller-coaster ride as benchmark took sharp dips followed by sustained buying.



At close on Tuesday, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index increased 2.11% or 698.46 points to end at 33,798.80.

Elixir Securities analyst Faisal Bilwani said value buyers dared to cherry pick with most names attracting fresh flows barring oil stocks that remained depressed and closed deep in the red.

“News of ADB approving a 6-year $1.2 billion per year country partnership strategy for infrastructure upgrades and institutional reforms further fuelled excitement with on an 11-week high turnover on KSE-100,” he said

“We expect the market to further cover recent losses with recovery in crude to bring bruised oil names somewhat in the limelight, while wider market is likely to test 34,500 where we see consolidation in the near term,” remarked Bilwani.

Meanwhile, JS Global analyst Saeed Ahmad Khan said that major support was seen in the cement and the fertiliser sectors. “Top performers of the sector were Dera Ghazi Khan Cement (DGKC +5%), Maple Leaf Cement Factory (MLCF +5%), Engro Fertilizer EFERT (+5.0%) and ENGRO (+5%).

“Volatility prevailed in the oil sector where the scrips juggled between the red and green. Top performers of the day were Attock Refinery Limited (ATRL +5.0%) and National Refinery Limited (NRL +1.1%).

“Bank AL-Habib Limited (BAHL -0.8%) and Askari Bank Limited (AKBL +5%) both announced their half year ended results which clocked in better than expected.

“The sector rallied from there, with top performers being Allied Bank Limited (ABL +5%) and Faysal Bank Limited (FABL +5.5%),” Khan added.

Trade volumes rose to 395 million shares on Tuesday, compared with Monday’s tally of 322.5 million shares.

Shares of 370 companies were traded on Tuesday. At the end of the day, 287 stocks closed higher, 78 declined while 5 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs19.1 billion.



K-Electric was the volume leader with 44.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.73 to clock up at Rs7.88. It was followed by Jahangir Siddiqui and Company with 32 million shares, gaining Rs0.38 to close at Rs24.75 and Pak Elektron with 22.4 million shares, gaining Rs2.86 to close at Rs87.79 per share.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs1.9 billion during the trade session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th,  2015.

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