Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs470 million during the trading session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited. PHOTO: ONLINE
At close, the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark index registered an increase of 0.17% or 64.78 points to end at 39,253.25.
Elixir Securities, in its report, said the market opened sideways and notable sectors struggled to find a clear direction.
They skidded lower on relatively thin volumes with the participants preferring to lock in gains across the board with the exception of steel sector that stood strong from the word go on news of re-imposition of 15% regulatory duty on the import of iron and steel alloys.
Amreli Steels (+5%), Mughal Iron & Steels (+2.7%), International Steels (+2.2%) gained significantly during the day.
“The KSE-100 index that broke below 39,000 found support over 38,900 with buying primarily in Maple Leaf Cement (+2.2%), DG Khan Cement (+1%), Hub Power (+2.1%), Pakistan Oilfields (+0.8%) and Packages Limited (+3.9%), which pushed the index in the green by the day’s close.”
Overall, turnover was considerably lower as only $89 million worth of shares changed hands on the benchmark index, down 23% compared to last week’s average, said the report.
“Expect volatility to continue, however, the benchmark index will likely move in a range of 300-500 points with profits and pay-outs gaining more attention as we head closer to the earnings season,” commented Elixir Securities analyst Ali Raza.
Meanwhile, JS Global analyst Nabeel Haroon said volatility prevailed in the market as the index juggled between an intraday high of +81 points and intraday low of -283 points to close at 39,253.
“Mughal Steel gained as the government has withdrawn the regulatory duty exemption for semi-finished products of iron or non-alloy steel and now they will be subject to the regulatory duty,” he said.
Both gas utilities SNGPL (+4.68%) and SSGC (+4.98%) gained on the back of news that the government has planned to increase electricity and gas tariffs this month to meet revenue requirements as per commitment to the IMF.
“Moving forward, we remain bullish on the market and recommend investors to accumulate on dips,” added Haroon.
Trade volumes fell to 172 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 199.7 million.
Shares of 344 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 159 stocks closed higher, 152 declined while 33 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs10.9 billion.
Sui Northern Gas Pipelines was the volume leader with 31.6 million shares, gaining Rs1.91 to finish at Rs42.71. It was followed by Dewan Motors with 12.1 million shares, losing Rs0.30 to finish at Rs16.57 and TRG Pakistan Limited with 11.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.49 to close at Rs35.90.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs470 million during the trading session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 19th, 2016.
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