Weekly review: KSE-100 sheds 276 points ahead of holiday season
Market remained under selling pressure throughout shortened week
Market remained under selling pressure throughout shortened week.
KARACHI:
The stock market recorded three consecutive days of decline as falling crude oil prices and regulatory concerns for the banking sector caused selling pressure at the bourse, resulting in the benchmark KSE-100 index falling 276 points (0.8%) during the week ended December 23.
The week was cut short to only three days due to public holidays on December 24 and December 25 on account of 12th Rabiul Awwal and Quaid-e-Azam Day respectively. Investors took a backseat as volumes remained abysmally low in all three trading sessions.
With oil prices falling to six-year lows, pressure mounted on the KSE-100 index due to the futures contract rollover week. Some support came in the form of approval of the ninth tranche of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme and positive developments about gas supply to Engro Fertilizers.
The week started off on a negative note as the index fell 118 points on Monday as selling was witnessed in index heavyweights Oil and Gas Development Company due to falling crude oil prices and Habib Bank Limited due to the investigation at its New York branch.
The index fell a further 18 points on Tuesday with selling pressure being offset by value buying and 140 points on Wednesday as investors closed their positions ahead of the futures rollover. The lack of any significant trigger meant that activity remained low and the KSE-100 index ended the week at 32,500 points.
Oil prices continued to impact the market significantly as the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell below $35 and the price of benchmark Brent crude hit $36, a six-year low. The declines impacted the entire sector with all major companies closing the week in the red.
Foreigners continued to be net sellers at the bourse offloading a net $1.8 million worth of equity during the shortened week. The number was an improvement over the $10.2 million net selling registered in the previous week.
Some positive news came from the IMF which approved the release of the ninth loan tranche amounting to $498 million after a successful review. The inflow will mean that the country will likely end 2015 with foreign exchange reserves standing at an all-time high of $21 billion.
In sector-specific news, the fertiliser sector dominated the headlines with news of the Ministry of Petroleum proposing an extension in gas supply from Mari gas field to the Engro Fertilizers’ plant beyond 2015. The news led to activity in the sector, pushing up share prices of both Engro Corporation and Engro Fertilizers.
Average daily volumes fell sharply by 34.4% and stood at 91.3 million shares while average daily values plummeted 24.5% and were recorded at Rs6.6 billion. The Karachi Stock Exchange’s market capitalisation stood at Rs6.84 trillion ($65.3 billion) at the end of the week.
Winners of the week
Soneri Bank
Soneri Bank Limited provides banking services. The company has branches in all major cities of Pakistan.
Attock Refinery
Attock Refinery Limited, a subsidiary of the Attock Oil Company, specialises in the refining of crude oil.
Jahangir Siddiqui & Company
Jahangir Siddiqui & Company Limited is an investment company, offering share brokerage, money market, advisory and consultancy, underwriting and portfolio management services.
Losers of the week
Associated Services Limited
Earlier called Latif Jute Mills Limited, the company is one of the industrial machinery and services firms in Karachi.
Ferozsons Laboratories
Ferozesons Laboratories Ltd manufactures and sells pharmaceutical products.
Pakistan Tobacco Company
Pakistan Tobacco Company Limited manufactures and sells cigarettes.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2015.
The stock market recorded three consecutive days of decline as falling crude oil prices and regulatory concerns for the banking sector caused selling pressure at the bourse, resulting in the benchmark KSE-100 index falling 276 points (0.8%) during the week ended December 23.
The week was cut short to only three days due to public holidays on December 24 and December 25 on account of 12th Rabiul Awwal and Quaid-e-Azam Day respectively. Investors took a backseat as volumes remained abysmally low in all three trading sessions.
With oil prices falling to six-year lows, pressure mounted on the KSE-100 index due to the futures contract rollover week. Some support came in the form of approval of the ninth tranche of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme and positive developments about gas supply to Engro Fertilizers.
The week started off on a negative note as the index fell 118 points on Monday as selling was witnessed in index heavyweights Oil and Gas Development Company due to falling crude oil prices and Habib Bank Limited due to the investigation at its New York branch.
The index fell a further 18 points on Tuesday with selling pressure being offset by value buying and 140 points on Wednesday as investors closed their positions ahead of the futures rollover. The lack of any significant trigger meant that activity remained low and the KSE-100 index ended the week at 32,500 points.
Oil prices continued to impact the market significantly as the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell below $35 and the price of benchmark Brent crude hit $36, a six-year low. The declines impacted the entire sector with all major companies closing the week in the red.
Foreigners continued to be net sellers at the bourse offloading a net $1.8 million worth of equity during the shortened week. The number was an improvement over the $10.2 million net selling registered in the previous week.
Some positive news came from the IMF which approved the release of the ninth loan tranche amounting to $498 million after a successful review. The inflow will mean that the country will likely end 2015 with foreign exchange reserves standing at an all-time high of $21 billion.
In sector-specific news, the fertiliser sector dominated the headlines with news of the Ministry of Petroleum proposing an extension in gas supply from Mari gas field to the Engro Fertilizers’ plant beyond 2015. The news led to activity in the sector, pushing up share prices of both Engro Corporation and Engro Fertilizers.
Average daily volumes fell sharply by 34.4% and stood at 91.3 million shares while average daily values plummeted 24.5% and were recorded at Rs6.6 billion. The Karachi Stock Exchange’s market capitalisation stood at Rs6.84 trillion ($65.3 billion) at the end of the week.
Winners of the week
Soneri Bank
Soneri Bank Limited provides banking services. The company has branches in all major cities of Pakistan.
Attock Refinery
Attock Refinery Limited, a subsidiary of the Attock Oil Company, specialises in the refining of crude oil.
Jahangir Siddiqui & Company
Jahangir Siddiqui & Company Limited is an investment company, offering share brokerage, money market, advisory and consultancy, underwriting and portfolio management services.
Losers of the week
Associated Services Limited
Earlier called Latif Jute Mills Limited, the company is one of the industrial machinery and services firms in Karachi.
Ferozsons Laboratories
Ferozesons Laboratories Ltd manufactures and sells pharmaceutical products.
Pakistan Tobacco Company
Pakistan Tobacco Company Limited manufactures and sells cigarettes.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2015.