Market watch: KSE-100 ends positive, but participation remains thin

Benchmark-100 share index ends with increase of 53.58 points to close at 47,942.95

KARACHI: Local as well as global political uncertainty continued to hamper investor sentiment as the KSE-100 Index lost much of its intra-day gain and closed marginally positive.

The index opened negative and fell in the opening hour of the day before recovering to go near the 48,100 level. However, uncertainty over the Panama case verdict and absence of positive triggers meant investors were happy to book whatever profits came their way by the end of the day.

At close, the Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) benchmark index recorded a rise of 53.58 points or 0.11% at 47,942.95.

According to JS Research, limited participation by investors in the market can be attributed to the ongoing concerns over the political scenario.



"E&P sector extended its gain as crude oil prices continued their upward trajectory to trade above $52.50/bbl level. This surge in crude oil prices stemmed from another shutdown at Libya's largest oilfield and unrest following US airstrike on Syrian airbase," said analyst Nabeel Haroon.

"(OGDC +1.54%) and (POL +0.67%) were major index movers from the aforementioned sector.

"Apart from the E&P sector major contribution to the index gain came from (HBL +1.02%), (UBL +1.25%) and (PAEL +2.22%), while (FCCL -1.21%), (SNGP -1.15%) and (BAHL -0.88%) lost value to weigh down on the index.

"Moving forward, we recommend investors to stay cautious in the market as volumes are expected to stay low amid political uncertainty," he added.



Meanwhile, Elixir Securities analyst Ali Raza attributed recovery during the day to finance and E&P sectors.

"The start to the day was on dreary note as the wider market failed to carry momentum from late Friday's trading and slipped in the red zone on low turnover," he said.

"However, later, recovery was seen as gains in select Index names across Financials and E&Ps helped Index to recover lost ground however profit-taking in the final hour again dragged Index in the red zone.

"Major contribution to day's gains came from Habib Bank (HBL PA +1.0%), Oil & Gas (OGDC PA +1.5%) and United Bank (UBL PA +1.3%), while Fauji Cement (FCCL PA -1.5%) was among the top three stocks that dented KSE-100 Index on relatively dull volumes.

"We see volatility to persist as investors continue to await clarity on Panama case, however earnings excitement as the results season gets into full swing in the coming days will likely bring investor's focus back on fundamentals and may also help marginalise concerns over domestic politics," he added.



Overall, trading volume amounted to 130.7 million shares compared with Friday's tally of 152 million.

Shares of 359 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 131 stocks closed higher, 210 declined while 18 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.6 billion.

Azgard Nine was the volume leader with 15.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.37 to close at Rs13.05. It was followed by Dewan Cement with 10.8 million shares, losing Rs0.1 to close at Rs21.89 and TRG Pakistan with 8.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.26 to close at Rs49.56.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs51 million during the trading session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.