Market watch: KSE-100 falls with trading volumes lowest since July 2014

Benchmark index loses 261.93 points to end at 38,383.97

KARACHI: The stock market resumed its downward journey as the index once again dipped amid lacklustre trading to close in the red zone.

The KSE-100 Index fell 300 points in intra-day trading due to uncertainty over the political front and lack of positive triggers which kept investors uneasy.

At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index registered a decrease of 261.93 points or 0.68% to settle at 38,383.97.

According to Elixir Securities, Pakistan equities stood lower in lacklustre trading with turnover on the KSE All-share Index ($24 million) touching a 29-month low.

"Lack of near-term triggers and remaining noise on the political front forced most of the investors to continue to stay on the sidelines," stated Elixir.

Lucky Cement (-2%) despite announcing completion of its brownfield expansion by adding a 1.3-million-ton-per-annum production line dented the benchmark index the most on reported selling by foreigners.

Among other blue-chips, Pakistan Petroleum (-1.2%), Engro Corp (-1.3%) and Habib Bank (-0.7%) also dragged down the index amid thin turnover.



"[We] expect participants to closely track news flow on the political front to gauge market direction," the report added.

JS Global analyst Maaz Mulla said the KSE-100 Index - as had been the case over the past few months - displayed a lacklustre performance, shedding 262 points (0.68%) to close at 38,384 and failing to carry on the momentum from Friday's session, when the index shot up 701 points (+1.83%).

"Political noise was at a high level and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's announcement of the election date could not prove enough to remove investors' jitters," he said.

Trading volumes were the lowest since July 2014 while the traded value stood at $24 million, down 71%.

Brief participation of institutional investors was seen in the exploration and production sector where Pakistan Oilfields (-0.69%), Pakistan Petroleum (-1.24%) and Oil and Gas Development Company (-0.41%) closed in the red.

Pressure was seen in the cement sector where Maple Leaf Cement (-0.97%), Fauji Cement (-2.15%), DG Khan Cement (-1.98%) and Lucky Cement (-1.98%) were major laggards.



"Moving forward, we expect the market to remain negative on the back of political uncertainty amid a general lack of triggers. We recommend investors to stay cautious and book profits on strength," he added.

Overall, trading volumes decreased to 50 million shares compared with Friday's tally of 139.8 million.

Shares of 326 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 75 stocks closed higher, 237 declined while 14 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs2.7 billion.

TRG Pakistan was the volume leader with 4.4 million shares, losing Rs1.52 to close at Rs29.05. It was followed by Azgard Nine with 3.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.02 to close at Rs14.60 and Crescent Star (R) with 2.2 million shares, losing Rs0.04 to close at Rs0.15.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs101 million during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.