Market watch: Disappointing financial results drag KSE-100 down

Benchmark index loses 185.83 points, settles at 41,409.49 points

KARACHI: The stock market succumbed to political noise on a day when most companies also posted disappointing quarterly financial results as the KSE-100 fell below the 41,500 level on Thursday.

Futures’ rollover week, coupled with below-expectation results posted by major players, and rising political noise added to investors’ worry that have been on the sidelines for months.

At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index registered a decrease of 185.83 points or 0.45% to finish at 41,409.49.

According to Elixir Securities, Pakistan equities dropped on Thursday in a range-bound and lacklustre trading session.

“After a positive open, stocks were down with limited activity pulling the benchmark KSE-100 Index below 41,500.

“Sideboard names in industrials, utilities and consumer sectors faced massive wrath of profit-bookers amid uncertainty on market direction and unexciting results announcements; earnings released by Pak Electron PAEL PA -5% were a major dampener.



“Oils and financials closed in the red with the former likely tracking dip in global crude. Cements closed mixed on limited institutional interest, however, fertilisers generated relatively better activity and closed with modest gains.

“We expect weakness in the market to persist amid range-bound trading as triggers remain limited with index hovering in a range of 500 to 700 points,” it added.

Overall, trading volumes rose to 139 million shares compared with Wednesday's tally of 102 million.



Shares of 378 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 122 stocks closed higher, 239 declined while 17 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs6.9 billion.

Azgard Nine was the volume leader with 13.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.04 to close at Rs14.52. It was followed by Pak Elektron with 10.01 million shares, losing Rs3.56 to close at Rs67.64 and Aisha Steel Mill with 8.15 million shares, losing Rs0.69 to close at Rs19.13.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs34.8 million during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.