Market watch: KSE-100 experiences another dull session, ends little changed

Benchmark index increases 18.18 points to close at 50,162

KARACHI: The KSE 100-share Index endured another dull trading session between red and green zones on Wednesday and closed little changed compared to the previous day.

At the end of trading, the benchmark index recorded an increase of 18.18 points or 0.04% at 50,162.81.

Elixir Securities, in its report, stated Pakistan equities repeated the previous performance and closed another dull session little changed.

"Limited institutional activity was seen in index names with the benchmark KSE-100 index recording volumes of just under 60 million shares while retail participation somewhat improved with most volumes going through consumer and industrial plays," said analyst Ali Raza.



Notable names across financial, fertiliser and cement sectors mostly closed in the red while oil stocks, on the flip side, traded in the green in line with higher global crude prices.

"[We] Expect range-bound trading to continue in the near term due to dearth of positive triggers with local institutions likely continuing to track foreign funds' activity and trade selectively in index names," Raza added.

JS Global analyst Arhum Ghous said the market remained volatile on Wednesday as well as it touched an intra-day high of +204 points and intra-day low of -176 points to finally close 18-point up at 50,163.

“Major contribution to the index came from Oil and Gas Development Company (+1.40%), United Bank Limited (+0.81%) and International Steels (+4%) as they cumulatively contributed +69 points to the index,” he said.



“On the flip side, major laggards were Hub Power Company (-1.62%), Engro (-1.08%) and National Bank of Pakistan (-2.16%) as they cumulatively contributed -49 points to the index.”

Stocks in the power generation sector lost value as conflicts between independent power producers and the government caught investor attention.

Hubco, Kot Addu Power Company (-0.93%), Lalpir Power (-0.97%) and Nishat Power (-0.11%) from the sector saw a decline in their stock prices.

A delay in setting up car manufacturing plants by new players gave a slight boost to the auto sector where Honda Atlas Cars (+0.31%) and Pak-Suzuki Motor Company (+0.26%) made positive contributions, the analyst said.



“Moving forward, we expect volatility to continue in the market and recommend investors to sell on strength.”

Overall, trading volumes rose to 232 million shares compared with Tuesday's tally of 231 million.

Shares of 369 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 186 stocks closed higher and 167 declined while 16 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs11.3 billion.

Dewan Farooque Spinning was the volume leader with 23.3 million shares, losing Rs1.00 to close at Rs9.14. It was followed by Engro Polymer with 21.3 million shares, gaining Rs1.72 to close at Rs36.28 and Power Cement (right shares) with 19.7 million shares, losing Rs0.30 to close at Rs1.92.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs418 million during the trading session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.