The Karachi Stock Exchange’s benchmark 100- share index ended 0.25 per cent, or 26.51 points, lower at 10,428.12. Investors were cautious ahead of the weekend and net foreign portfolio outflow of $4.39 million on Thursday also prompted selling by local investors, dealers said. Trade volume fell 15.8 per cent to an intraweek low of 96.88 million shares, compared to Thursday’s tally of 115 million shares.
“The KSE-100 index remained volatile throughout the day trading in a low range between 10,407 and 10,485,” said Sameer Danawala, an analyst at JS Global Capital. Second-tier stocks stood as volume leaders while some activity in the oil, cement and banking sectors was also witnessed and as a result the total exchange value stood at Rs4.96 billion.
During the day’s trade 145 stocks closed higher, 247 stocks declined and 16 stocks remained unchanged in value. Pak Telecommunication (KSE: PTCL) was the volume leader with 8.54 million shares gaining Rs0.01 to close at Rs21.5. Silkbank (KSE: SILK) came second with 5.85 million shares losing Rs0.04 to close at Rs3.34.
Lotte Pakistan (KSE: LOTPTA ) finished third with 5.76 million shares gaining Rs0.14 to close at Rs 11.2. There was bad news for the fertiliser sector as Friday’s trading session started with Fauji Fertiliser (KSE: FFC) announcing lower-than-expected earnings. The share closed at Rs113.04 down by 0.7 per cent. The company declared a cash dividend of Rs4.0 and an earnings per share (EPS) of Rs4.02. National Bank of Pakistan (KSE: NBP) announced its first quarter result with an EPS of Rs3.13.
“There was buying interest in the share after the result but it could not sustain the level finally closing at Rs73.32 down 0.95 per cent.” Engro Corporation (KSE: ENGRO) recovered in the second-half after hitting an intraday low of Rs194.1 after the company announced that it will raise the prices of its fertiliser products to recover from losses due to gas shortages. Engro’s share price closed 0.88 per cent lower at Rs198.17. Javedan Cement (KSE: JVDC) was one of Friday’s top gainers of the day at the KSE-100, its share price rising 4.98 per cent to close at Rs66.9. Pakistan Telephone Cables (KSE: PTEC) was in the losers list dropping a massive 9.28 per cent to Rs3.23.
Lafarge Pakistan Cement (KSE: LPCL) closed in the red, its share price shedding five per cent to close at Rs3.61.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ