Amid sluggish trading, KSE-100 ends almost flat
Benchmark index loses 24.85 points to settle at 42,750.19
PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
Political uncertainty continued to influence investor sentiment, as the stock market ended marginally in the red with the index hovering in a narrow range on Friday.
The KSE-100 Index fell over 200 points in the early hours, but reversed the fall and climbed to hit a high of 42,900 points before retreating after the break to end almost flat.
At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a fall of 24.85 points or 0.06% to stand at 42,750.19.
Elixir Securities, in its report, stated that Pakistan equities closed little changed in a sluggish and range-bound session on Friday.
“Stocks opened negative and benchmark Index traded in a narrow range throughout the day as most investors traded cautiously amid dearth of positive triggers in sight and rising noise on domestic political front,” stated Elixir.
The wider market activity also took a plunge as evident from turnover on KSE All Index that just clocked under $52 million, down 44% vs this week’s average.
Fauji Fertilizer (FFC PA -3.4%), Sui Northern Gas Co (SNGP PA -2.6%), Pakistan Petroleum (PPL PA -1.1%) stood among the top losers and dented Index by 70 points while index heavy United Bank (UBL PA +2%) and MCB Bank (MCB PA +1.3%) stood strong and landed among the top gainers.
“[We] expect range-bound trading in near-term with most investors trading cautiously and waiting for the dust to settle on domestic politics. Going forward, we see wider market activity remaining getting lower and sporadic owing to start of the holy month of Muharram,” the report added.
JS Global analyst Maaz Mulla said the market remained range-bound making an intraday low of -203 and high of +146 points.
Major gainers of the day were UBL (+0.11%), ATRL (+0.76%) and DAWH (+5%) whereas on the flipside SNGP (-2.06%), FFC (-3.38%), and LUCK (-0.56%) were the major negative contributors to the index.
NCPL from the power sector announced its FY17 result where the company announced an EPS of Rs8.17 and a final cash dividend of Rs1/share. NCL from the textile sector also announced its FY17 result where the company posted an EPS of Rs6.75 and a final pay-out of Rs2.75/share.
Investor interest was witnessed in the auto sector where HCAR (+3.27%), DFML (+4.82%) and GHNL (+4.79%) closed in the green zone.
“Moving forward, we expect volatility to continue unless any clarity emerges over the ongoing political scenario. We recommend investors to remain cautious and to sell on strength,” Mulla remarked.
Overall, trading volumes fell to 132 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 165 million.
Shares of 388 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 178 stocks closed higher, 184 declined while 26 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.4 billion.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 17.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.09 to close at Rs3.52. It was followed by Engro Polymer with 8.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.99 to close at Rs34.01 and K-Electric Limited with 6.7 million shares, gaining Rs0.06 to close at Rs6.27.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs106 million during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2017.
Political uncertainty continued to influence investor sentiment, as the stock market ended marginally in the red with the index hovering in a narrow range on Friday.
The KSE-100 Index fell over 200 points in the early hours, but reversed the fall and climbed to hit a high of 42,900 points before retreating after the break to end almost flat.
At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a fall of 24.85 points or 0.06% to stand at 42,750.19.
Elixir Securities, in its report, stated that Pakistan equities closed little changed in a sluggish and range-bound session on Friday.
“Stocks opened negative and benchmark Index traded in a narrow range throughout the day as most investors traded cautiously amid dearth of positive triggers in sight and rising noise on domestic political front,” stated Elixir.
The wider market activity also took a plunge as evident from turnover on KSE All Index that just clocked under $52 million, down 44% vs this week’s average.
Fauji Fertilizer (FFC PA -3.4%), Sui Northern Gas Co (SNGP PA -2.6%), Pakistan Petroleum (PPL PA -1.1%) stood among the top losers and dented Index by 70 points while index heavy United Bank (UBL PA +2%) and MCB Bank (MCB PA +1.3%) stood strong and landed among the top gainers.
“[We] expect range-bound trading in near-term with most investors trading cautiously and waiting for the dust to settle on domestic politics. Going forward, we see wider market activity remaining getting lower and sporadic owing to start of the holy month of Muharram,” the report added.
JS Global analyst Maaz Mulla said the market remained range-bound making an intraday low of -203 and high of +146 points.
Major gainers of the day were UBL (+0.11%), ATRL (+0.76%) and DAWH (+5%) whereas on the flipside SNGP (-2.06%), FFC (-3.38%), and LUCK (-0.56%) were the major negative contributors to the index.
NCPL from the power sector announced its FY17 result where the company announced an EPS of Rs8.17 and a final cash dividend of Rs1/share. NCL from the textile sector also announced its FY17 result where the company posted an EPS of Rs6.75 and a final pay-out of Rs2.75/share.
Investor interest was witnessed in the auto sector where HCAR (+3.27%), DFML (+4.82%) and GHNL (+4.79%) closed in the green zone.
“Moving forward, we expect volatility to continue unless any clarity emerges over the ongoing political scenario. We recommend investors to remain cautious and to sell on strength,” Mulla remarked.
Overall, trading volumes fell to 132 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 165 million.
Shares of 388 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 178 stocks closed higher, 184 declined while 26 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.4 billion.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 17.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.09 to close at Rs3.52. It was followed by Engro Polymer with 8.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.99 to close at Rs34.01 and K-Electric Limited with 6.7 million shares, gaining Rs0.06 to close at Rs6.27.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs106 million during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2017.