Market watch: Stocks bleed as KSE-100 Index falls another 707 points

Benchmark index settles at 13-month low of 39,617.19

KARACHI: The stock market witnessed on Tuesday another turbulent session as the index dropped below 40,000 points amid a proportionate rise in the political temperature in the country.

Absence of positive triggers also contributed to the overall bearish trend in the market as heavyweight sectors were deprived of investor interest and, resultantly, dragged the index down.

At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index registered a plunge of 707.13 points or 1.75% to finish at 39,617.19.

According to Elixir Securities, Pakistan equities continued to bleed amid turbulence on political front as heavyweight sectors dragged KSE-100 Index to 13-month low near 39,600 level.

"The market carried the bearish momentum and index names kept sliding during the day as domestic politics topped news and kept investors nervous while absence of immediate triggers and end of earnings season resulted in lower overall activity and less aggressive bids on system.

"The last one hour of trading, however, saw activity picking up likely due to cherry picking and month-end rebalancing by institutional investors.



"We expect weakness in the market to persist as triggers remain limited. The index closing the month at a new low is also not helping sentiments and warrants a cautious outlook in the near-term," the report added.

Meanwhile, JS Research analyst Maaz Mulla said the market continued on a bearish trend, with the KSE-100 index plunging by 707 points (1.75%) to break the 40,000 barrier.

"The culprits remained the same, led by an uncertain political environment, uncertainty on external account, absence of major triggers (uninteresting corporate results for the September quarter), which created an atmosphere of panic selling.

"Volumes stood at 139 million shares, from 99 million shares traded yesterday while traded value increased to Rs9.3 billion from Rs6.3 billion. PAEL (-3.56%) led volumes with 13million shares exchanging hands.

"Some of the major laggards for the day were HBL (-2.83%), LUCK (-4.59%), ENGRO (-2.29%), MCB (-2.32%) and SNGP (-4.53%) that cumulatively contributed 243 points loss to the benchmark index.

"On a sector level, banks led the decline at the local bourse where heavyweights HBL (-2.83%), NBP (-2.90%), UBL (-2.01%) were major laggards. Cements continued on a downward trajectory where LUCK (-4.59%), CHCC (-5%), MLCF (-2.81%) and FCCL (-3.17%) closed negative. MARI (+2.11%) from the E&P sector declared its result for 1QFY18, where the company posted an EPS of Rs32.77 with no cash payout.



"Moving forward, we expect similar trend to continue unless clarity emerges on the political scenario or positive triggers on the economic front prop up. We recommend investors to remain cautious and sell on strength," Mulla added.

Overall, trading volumes rose to 139 million shares compared with Monday's tally of 98 million.

Shares of 359 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 76 stocks closed higher, 269 declined while 14 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs9.2 billion.

Pak Elektron was the volume leader with 13.13 million shares, losing Rs2.18 to close at Rs58.99. It was followed by K-Electric with 10.23 million shares, losing Rs0.17 to close at Rs5.54 and TRG Pak with 10.1 million shares, losing Rs1.69 to close at Rs32.35.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs2.02 billion during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.