PHOTO: FILE
At close of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index finished with a gain of 19.36 points or 0.04% to end at 45,413.42.
The index hit a high of 46,358 points as oil and fertiliser stocks led the way, but concerns over proceedings of the joint investigation team probing the Panama case took toll on the intra-day gain.
Elixir Securities, in its report, stated equities closed flat after going through a volatile session driven up in the first half by rupee slide, but losing ground due to heightened political noise.
"The benchmark KSE-100 Index soared by more than 960 points as news of rupee depreciation made the headlines where the rupee sank by 3% against the greenback in the interbank market; leading to a rally in select sectors.
KSE-100 gains 729 points as value-picking helps recovery
"Primarily, oil and power sectors were in the limelight owing to their dollar-indexed revenues stream where Hub Power (HUBC PA +5%), Pakistan Petroleum (PPL PA +4.4%), Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC PA +2.4%) and Pakistan Oilfields (POL PA +4.1%) led the gains."
But ongoing political uncertainty along with pressure on import-oriented sectors resulted in bears taking over and wiping all gains, the report stated.
"[We] expect volatile trading to continue in near-term with participants closely monitoring political development, institutional flows and exchange rate movement," it added.
JS Global analyst Arhum Ghous said the market continued to show volatility as the benchmark KSE-100 index fluctuated between -241 points and +964 points to close at 45,413 level.
"Positivity prevailed in the initial hours of the trading session on news of the US dollar rising to its 2.5 year high against the Pakistani rupee in the interbank market touching Rs108.2 but soon lost sheen due to overall lack of clarity over ongoing political situation in the country," said Ghous.
Dump and run at PSX as KSE-100 finishes with 1,900-point fall
E&P sector extended its previous day gains as oil prices extended their longest winning streak in more than seven years, touching the strongest level in a month. POL (+4.12%) and PPL (+4.36%) were the major gainers of the sector.
"Mixed sentiment were witnessed in the banking sector as heavyweights HBL (-2.94%) and UBL (-0.70%) closed in the red zone whereas MCB (+1.96%) closed in the green zone.
"Selling pressure was seen in the steel sector where ISL (-5%), INIL (-5%) and ASTL (-5%) lost value to close in the red zone," the analyst remarked.
PAEL (-5%) closed on its lower circuit as dollar surged, which is negative for the company as it imports raw material for its production. Following the same trend, auto sector lost value where PSMC (-5%), HCAR (-4.65%) and INDU (-3.41%) closed in the red zone.
"Moreover, market is expected to stay under pressure unless there is political certainty, therefore we recommend investors to stay cautious and avoid intraday positions," Ghous added.
KSE-100 ends with 23% gain as fiscal year ends
Overall, trading volumes rose to 204 million shares compared with Tuesday's tally of 190 million.
Shares of 348 companies were traded. At the end of the day, value of 157 stocks closed higher, 177 declined while 14 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs12.5 billion.
TRG Pakistan was the volume leader with 17.4 million shares, losing Rs1.85 to close at Rs36.14. It was followed by the Bank of Punjab with 16.2 million shares, gaining Rs0.03 to close at Rs11.24 and Engro Polymer with 8.8 million shares, losing Rs0.36 to close at Rs34.54.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs517 million during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ