A positive start meant the index was easily able to cross the 34,000-point mark but profit-booking kicked in soon after with volumes also going down in a volatile session.
At close on Thursday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s benchmark KSE-100 index fell 0.15% or 50.34 points to end at 33,896.03.
JS Gobal analyst Ahmed Saeed Khan said volatility prevailed in Thursday’s session.
“The index juggled between -76 points and +112 points and closed 50 points in the red zone,” said Khan.
“Initial rally was led by the oil sector as global crude oil traded above $40/barrel, however, the sector succumbed to pressure during the second half as global crude oil prices depicted downward movement.
“Top performers of the sector today were Pakistan Refinery Limited (+2.12%) and Byco Petroleum (BYCO) (+2.35%), said Khan.
“Profit taking was witnessed in the cement sector, while pressure remained on the auto sector, where almost all stocks closed in the red zone amid appreciating yen.”
Topline Securities, in its report, said that consolidation was seen at the local bourse on Thursday as investors trimmed their positions in cement, oil exploration and banking sector stocks.
“Although benchmark KSE-100 index clocked an intraday high of 34,055 index level, technical resistance at that level resulted in the index closing 0.1% down.”
Trade volumes fell to 261 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 298 million.
Shares of 364 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 189 stocks closed higher, 156 declined while 19 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs8.6 billion.
Dewan Cement was the volume leader with 23.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.46 to finish at Rs15.98. It was followed by Pakistan International Airlines with 14.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.42 to close at Rs8.65 and Byco with 13.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.43 to close at Rs18.74.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs197 million during the trading session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 8th, 2016.
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