Weekly review: KSE-100 falls 252 points after roller-coaster ride

Index recovered after going down 1,251 points in the opening two days


Bilal Umar December 05, 2015
Index recovered after going down 1,251 points in the opening two days.

KARACHI:


The stock market endured a roller-coaster ride, falling sharply in the opening two days only to make a substantial recovery in the final three, as the benchmark KSE-100 index closed with a 252 points (0.8%) decline during the week ended December 4.


The market came under substantial pressure in the early part of the week due to continuous foreign selling, low crude oil prices and a regional sell-off in equity markets. However, value-seekers stepped in the second half of the week and aided the market’s resurgence, wiping off a substantial chunk of earlier losses.

After having plummeted 897 points in the previous week, the KSE-100 continued its negative streak and fell sharply by 705 points (2.1%) on the opening day of the week. The index suffered a similar fate on Tuesday as continuous foreign selling and an uptick in inflation numbers affected investor sentiment leading to a another decline of 546 points (1.7%) at the end of trading.

The index finally broke its 10-day negative streak and bounced back sharply on Wednesday as value-seekers stepped in to purchase equity at attractive valuations. The index rose 683 points on Wednesday, 172 points on Thursday and a further 143 points on Friday to end the week at 32,707, a decline of 252 points over last week’s closing.

Foreigners continued to be net sellers at the bourse, offloading a net of $17 million worth of equity during the week, as opposed to the $13.1 million net selling in the previous week. The heightened volatility attracted foreign interest as buying stood at $38 million during the week, but was off-set by the higher selling amount.

Oil prices continued to remain low and showed no signs of improving after OPEC announced that it would maintain oil production at high levels despite the current supply glut. With crude oil prices sustaining low levels, the all-important Oil and Gas sector remained under pressure and shed 3.8% of its value during the week, knocking off 142 points from the KSE-100 index in the process.

With equities at attractive valuations, investors rushed to buy in the second half of the week and were aided by news that the long-drawn tussle between the market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, and brokers was coming to a close with the regulator having agreed to implement regulation measures in a phased manner allowing time to brokers to adhere to them.

Average daily volumes improved slightly and stood at 154.6 million shares traded per day, up by 7.9% over the previous week. Similarly, average daily values also improved by 15% and were recorded at Rs7.64 billion per day. The Karachi Stock Exchange’s market capitalisation stood at Rs6.92 trillion ($65.1 billion) at the end of the week.

Winners of the week

Ghani Glass



Ghani Glass Limited manufactures and sells glass containers. The company manufactures international glass containers for pharma, food and beverage. Ghani Glass also manufactures float glass variations for commercial, domestic and industrial use.

Ferozsons Laboratories



Ferozesons Laboratories Ltd manufactures and sells pharmaceutical products.

Standard Chartered Bank



Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan Limited is an international bank that provides consumer and wholesale banking services.

Losers of the week

Associated Services Limited



Earlier called the Latif Jute Mills Limited, the company is one of the industrial machinery and services firms in Karachi.

Jahangir Siddiqui & Co



Jahangir Siddiqui & Company Limited is an investment company, offering share brokerage, money market, advisory and consultancy, underwriting and portfolio management services.

Bannu Woollen



Bannu Woollen Mills Limited manufactures and sells woollen yarn, cloth and blankets.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6th, 2015.

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