Market watch: Karachi bourse follows regional market slump

KARACHI: Bears continued to dominate proceedings at the stock market on Thursday with selling pressure in most of the blue chips and other noticeable stocks.

The Karachi Stock Exchange benchmark 100-share index ended 1.32 per cent or 165.74 points lower at 12,411.8.

Downward momentum in regional markets and profit-selling by local institutions fuelled negative sentiments at the local bourse, said Crosby Securities analyst Ovais Iqbal.

Major selling pressure was seen in oil and banking stocks where the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Pakistan Oilfields, MCB Bank, Habib Bank and National Bank closed on a negative note, depicting declines of 0.6 per cent, 1.9 per cent, 1.6 per cent, 2.9 per cent, 1.2 per cent and two per cent respectively.

Trading volume declined slightly by 2.3 per cent and stood at 183.6 million shares compared with 188 million shares traded on Wednesday.

Shares of 395 companies were traded on Thursday. At the end of the day, 104 stocks closed higher, 271 declined and 20 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.57 billion.

Lotte Pakistan PTA, the volume leader with 49.74 million shares, fell to its lower circuit breaker on news of a lower-than-expected cash payout along with thin margins in recent months. The scrip fell Rs0.94 to close at Rs15.25.

It was followed by Bank of Punjab with 12.29 million shares gaining Rs0.04 to close at Rs9.33 and Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim Limited with 11.97 million shares losing Rs0.17 to close at Rs41.97.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2011.