Market watch: Stocks close lower following sharp swings

Benchmark KSE-100 Index loses 104.40 points to settle at 39,945.41


Our Correspondent December 05, 2017
PHOTO: PPI / FILE

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange continued to witness lacklustre trading on Tuesday and the index fell following sharp swings between a small range of +35 points and -157 points.

Losses in notable index names from the banking and oil sectors contributed to bearish sentiments in the market.

At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index registered a decrease of 104.4 points or 0.26% to settle at 39,945.41.

JS Global analyst Maaz Mulla said the KSE-100 Index showed lacklustre trading throughout the session as the index hit a high of +35 points and low of -157 points to close at 39,945, down 104 points.

Major laggards were heavyweights Pakistan State Oil (-1.50%), United Bank (-1.97%), MCB Bank (-1.28%) and Lucky Cement (-0.17%), contributing 74 points to the index’s decline.

Market watch: Stocks manage to rise in lacklustre trading

On the other hand, some of the major gainers during the trading session were Thal Limited (+1.34%), Indus Motor (+1.14%) and Pak Suzuki Motor Company (+3.55%).

Despite a dull session, traded volumes improved 52% to 147 million shares while traded value rose to $58 million.

The fertiliser sector closed negative where Engro Fertilizers (-0.02%) and Fauji Fertilizer Company (-0.84%) were in the red, however, Engro Corp (+0.95%) showed some resilience and gained value.

A rally was witnessed in Pak Suzuki Motor Company on news that the company was introducing four new products. Moreover, inflation came in at 3.97% for November 2017, marginally below the consensus forecast of 4%.

“Moving forward, we expect the market to depict a similar trend and recommend investors to see any upside as an opportunity to sell,” Mulla added.

Weekly review: KSE-100 Index manages to finish over 40,000

Overall, trading volumes rose to 147 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 96 million.

Shares of 363 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 195 stocks closed higher, 152 declined while 16 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs6.14 billion.

K-Electric was the volume leader with 17.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.21 to close at Rs6.55. It was followed by TRG Pakistan with 12.7 million shares, gaining Rs0.35 to close at Rs37.41 and Japan Power with 12.18 million shares, gaining Rs1 to close at Rs2.28.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs55.04 million during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.

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