Market watch: Bears dominate the bourse as index closes in red again

Benchmark index loses 304.09 points, settles at 41,105.40 points

KARACHI: The stock market continued its negative run on Friday as all major sectors including cements, financials and fertilisers remained in red throughout.

Results announcements by notable index names also brought volatility to the market which, at one point, dropped below 41,000 points.

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 closed lower on Friday in volatile trading with benchmark KSE-100 Index finding footing over 41,100 points.

"Market carried bearish momentum from the word go and all major sectors including cements, financials and fertilisers remained in red throughout the two sessions while both volumes and turnover on KSE All-Shares Index only saw a passable improvement.

"Earnings announced by National Bank NBP PA -2.3% beat estimates, however the stock closed lower as bank had booked one-off reversal in provisions amounting to Rs2 billion.

"Pakistan Petroleum PPL PA +1.2% on the other hand closed higher as investors not only cheered higher earnings announced by the company but also its settlement of a civil case related to outstanding dues.



"In another development, Dawood Herculues DAWH PA +1.5% apprised of entering SPA with Kot Addu Power KAPCO PA -0.6% for divestment of its entire shareholding (14.9% of paid up capital) in Hub Power HUBC PA -0.5% at purchase price of Rs109.86/share.

"Meanwhile, dividend surprise in Sui Northern Gas Co SNGP PA +5% turned the sentiments positive in late trading and helped index to curtail some losses.

"With earnings season coming to an end, we see politics taking centre stage over the next week where the event to watch out for would be the next hearing of ousted PM Nawaz Sharif in NAB Courts, due on 3rd November.

"In the worst case, his absence in the next hearing might result in issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants," the report added.

Meanwhile, JS Research analyst Maaz Mulla said the KSE-100 index recorded a choppy session, hitting an intra-day low of -506 points, and closing at 41,105, down 0.7%.

"The divergent trend in the trading session could be attributed to the last day for futures rollover," he said.

Major laggards in the benchmark index were MCB Bank (-3.04%), Engro (-2.40%), Oil and Gas Development Company (-1.22%), Habib Bank Limited (-1.08%) and Pakistan State Oil (-2.11%) as they cumulatively contributed -172 points.

Nishat Mills (-1.72%) from the textile sector announced its 1QFY18 results where the company posted earnings per share (EPS) of Rs2.01, up 10% year-on-year.

National Bank (-2.44%) declared its results for 3Q2017, posting an EPS of Rs6.91. In the exploration and production sector, PPL (+1.03%) announced its results for 1QFY18 where the company announced EPS of Rs6.66.

SNGPL (+4.89%) closed near its upper circuit after unveiling its FY17 and 1QFY18 results where the gas utility posted an EPS of Rs13.58 and declared dividend per share of Rs6 for FY17. For 1QFY18, the EPS was Rs3.03 and cash payout was Rs1.50 per share.

Indus Motor (-0.17%) declared its 1QFY18 results where the company posted an EPS of Rs46.17 and cash payout of Rs30 per share which came in line with expectations, Mulla said.



"The market is expected to recover in coming days; we recommend investors to trade in main board stocks and take long-term positions to benefit from the undervalued stocks," he added.

Overall, trading volumes fell to 133 million shares compared with Thursday's tally of 139 million.

Shares of 362 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 101 stocks closed higher, 235 declined while 26 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.9 billion.

Sui North Gas was the volume leader with 10.11 million shares, gaining Rs5.80 to close at Rs124.29. It was followed by K-Electric with 10.05 million shares, losing Rs0.22 to close at Rs5.75 and Pak Elektron with 9.12 million shares, losing Rs3.38 to close at Rs64.29.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs545 million during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.