Market watch: Bloodbath at bourse ahead of PM's appearance before JIT

Benchmark index drops 1,855 points to close at 47,671.80

KARACHI: Stocks took a battering on Monday as the KSE 100-share Index started falling from the word 'go', plunging over 1,900 points in intra-day trading.

The losing streak continued for the third straight session as political uncertainty took a toll on the index. At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a fall of 1,855.12 points or 3.75% to close at 47,671.80.

Elixir Securities, in its report, stated Pakistan equities continued their losing streak heading into the new week and the benchmark index tumbled 3.75%, settling near 47,500 with domestic politics primarily denting sentiments.



"The market soon after the opening bell came under selling pressure as investors, primarily local retail players, panicked and reacted negatively to the weekend news that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is due to appear before the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on alleged corruption charges against him and family on June 15," said analyst Ali Raza.

At the day's end, almost all major sectors closed lower with index-heavy oil and industrial stocks denting the benchmark the most.

"[We] see volatile trading in the near term with anxiety related to domestic politics dampening the mood and keeping local retail investors on the lookout while institutional flows will remain the most important factor going forward in guiding the market direction," Raza added.

JS Global analyst Arhum Ghous said bloodbath was witnessed across the board in the stock market on account of ongoing political noise.



"A great number of stocks hit their respective lower lock due to which the KSE-100 index shed 1,855 points to close at 47,672," said Ghous.

Major contributors to the index were Engro (-4.97%), OGDC (-5%), Habib Bank (-3.27%), Hub Power (-4.24%) and Lucky Cement (-3.76%), cumulatively contributing -482 points.

"OGDC, Pakistan Oilfields (-4.94%) and Pakistan Petroleum (-4.08%) in the exploration and production sector also lost value to close in the red. Commercial bank heavyweights including United Bank (-3.27%), Habib Bank and MCB Bank (-3.16%) cumulatively contributed -240 points to the index," the analyst said.

"Moving forward, we recommend investors to wait for clarity on the prevailing political events and stay cautious."

Overall trading volumes rose to 219 million shares compared with Friday's tally of 208 million.



Shares of 386 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 26 stocks closed higher and 349 declined while 11 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs9.3 billion.

Power Cement (right shares) was the volume leader with 26.3 million shares, losing Rs0.47 to close at Rs0.73. It was followed by The Bank of Punjab (R) with 15.9 million shares, losing Rs0.24 to close at Rs0.67 and WorldCall Telecom with 13.8 million shares, losing Rs0.13 to close at Rs3.38.

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.