Market watch: Amid JIT proceedings, KSE-100 index ends another session in red

Benchmark index dips 165.91 points to close at 47,442.73

KARACHI: The stock market opened negative on Thursday, but recovered to jump over 450 points, hitting an intra-day high of 48,000 points. However, following the prime minister's appearance before the joint investigation team (JIT), the index fell back in the red zone.

At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a fall of 165.91 points or 0.35% to close at 47,442.73.

According to Elixir Securities, Pakistan equities closed lower after mid-day gains were wiped out by political noise as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appeared before Panama papers probe panel.

"The market after a red open recovered and advanced in the green zone on the back of gains, primarily by select industrial and consumer sideboard plays that helped the index revisit 48,000," stated the report.



However, reported institutional selling thereafter primarily in oil, financial and select cement stocks dragged the index back into the red zone.

Major dent came from United Bank (-3.3%), Lucky Cement (-2.9%), Oil and Gas Development Company (-1.6%) and Pakistan Petroleum (-1.6%).

On the flip side, consumer plays like Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (+2.7%), Pak Elektron (+3.8%) and International Steels (+2.8%) emerged as top movers.

Meanwhile, K-Electric (+2.5%) snapped its recent losing streak and closed higher after confirmation by Shanghai Electric of being committed to completing the acquisition deal.

"We see limited downside from current levels, however, investors will remain cautious and track developments on the political front in the near term," the report added.



JS Global analyst Arhum Ghous said in line with expectations the market started on a negative note, hitting an intra-day low of -239 points. However, during the day, the market witnessed positivity and touched an intra-day high of +480 points, but selling pressure in the last hour of trading caused negativity.

Positive contribution to the index came from Kohat Cement (+2.96%), Attock Refinery (+2.44%) and Pakistan Oilfields (+1.05%) as they cumulatively contributed 23 points to the index.

On the flipside, major laggards included United Bank (-3.27%), Lucky Cement (-2.93%) and Oil and Gas Development Company (-1.56%).

"Banking sector heavyweights showed mixed investor sentiments with United Bank closing in the red zone while Habib Bank (+0.46%), National Bank (+0.35%) and Allied Bank (+0.74%) closed in the green zone. Total contribution from the banking sector was -67 points to the KSE-100 index," said Ghous.

In the exploration and production sector, Oil and Gas Development Company (-1.56%) and Pakistan Petroleum (-1.64%) lost value to close in the red zone.



Sazgar Engineering Works (+5%) in the auto sector closed at its upper circuit on the back of news about export of rickshaws to Japan, the analyst said.

K-Electric (+2.51%) was the volume leader for the day. Positivity in the stock came from the reaffirmation of acquisition interest in the power company.

"Moving forward, we recommend investors to stay cautious due to the political environment and avoid taking short-term positions," he added.

Overall, trading volumes rose to 355 million shares compared with Wednesday's tally of 255 million.



Shares of 350 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 183 stocks closed higher and 147 declined while 20 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs11.6 billion.

Power Cement (right shares) was the volume leader with 109.9 million shares, losing Rs0.15 to close at Rs0.06. It was followed by K-Electric with 37.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.17 to close at Rs6.94 and Engro Polymer with 22.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.20 to close at Rs39.07.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs1.018 billion during the trading session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.