Market watch: Political tension keeps bourse in the red

KSE-100 index falls 25 points.

KARACHI:

The stock market fell in the first trading session of the week as political tension scared away investors.

The Karachi Stock Exchange benchmark 100-share index ended 0.21 per cent or 25.48 points lower at 11,974.55, after touching an intraday high of 12,158.01.

Excitement over implementation of the margin financing system in early trade proved to be short-lived as domestic politics turned the flow of events, said Elixir Securities equity dealer Nazim Abdul Muttalib.

The decline was mainly due to a brewing domestic political situation where the Muttahida Qaumi Movement withdrew its support for the Zardari-led government on security issues, added Muttalib.

MCB Bank stood firm throughout the day on hopes of continued earnings growth and on talk of foreign accumulation. The scrip gained 2.4 per cent to close at Rs211.63.

Furthermore, Lucky Cement gained 2.8 per cent as investors expect industry turnaround given the start of construction season and rumours that cement-makers will increase prices to cover the high input cost.

Volumes declined and stood at 117 million shares against Friday’s tally of 158.78 million shares.

Investors chose to book profits on recent gains as the index bounced back nine per cent last week.

Shares of 655 companies were traded on Monday. At the end of the day, 121 stocks closed higher, 162 declined and 372 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.51 billion.

Lotte Pakistan PTA was the volume leader with 17.76 million shares, losing Rs0.41 to finish at Rs15.57. It was followed by Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim with 10.31 million shares, gaining Rs0.41 to close at Rs43.11.

JS Bank, third in the volumes chart with 6.97 million shares, rose Rs0.07 to close at Rs3.1 as the bank announced a decrease of 31 per cent in its losses to Rs407 million on Monday.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2011.