A relatively dull session was witnessed on Friday, which also saw the end of a three-day positive streak. Banking and cement sectors remained laggards, dragging the benchmark down post morning session.
At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index registered a decrease of 354.46 points or 0.85% to settle at 41,435.70.
According to an AHL report, oil and gas, banks, fertiliser, and cement sectors saw profit-taking. The positivity led by waiver of SECP’s requirement on mutual funds margins also seemed to fizzle out in Friday’s session.
Trade fair to help promote local industry
“Concerns about downward revision in the upcoming MSCI review on November 13, also seemed to have played its role,” the report added.
On a scrip wise basis, the market was led by BOP (+8pts), DAWH (+8pts), SEARLE (+6pts), NPL (+6pts) and PKGS (+4pts). On the other side, stocks that remained in red include ENGRO (-47pts), LUCK (-45pts), HBL (-35pts), PPL (-25pts), and UBL (-25pts).
JS Global analyst Maaz Mulla said the market remained under selling pressure as the KSE-100 index lost 354 points to close at 41,436 level.
“Major laggards of the day were ENGRO (-2.69%), LUCK (-3.18%), HBL (-1.35%), PPL (-1.27%) and UBL (-1.39%) that cumulatively contributed -177 points to the index,” Mulla observed.
Selling pressure was witnessed in the cement sector where heavyweights LUCK (-3.18%), DGKC (-2.34%), DCL (-2.00%) and MLCF (-0.62%) lost value to close in the red trajectory.
Commercial banks dragged down the market as well, contributing 62 points of loss to the index.
“Moving forward, we recommend investors to stay cautious at current levels and any upside should be considered as an opportunity to reduce short-term positions or book profits,” he added.
Ambassador calls for increased trade between Pakistan, Tunisia
Overall, trading volumes fell to 128 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 161 million.
Shares of 342 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 142 stocks closed higher, 181 declined while 19 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.7 billion.
Azgard Nine was the volume leader with 15.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.66 to close at Rs14.24. It was followed by Dost Steels with 11.2 million shares, gaining Rs0.05 to close at Rs13.28 and Sui South Gas with 9.7 million shares, losing Rs1.73 to close at Rs35.28.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs84 million during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2017.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
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