Market watch: Foreigners buy, but KSE-100 plunges 586 points

Benchmark index falls 1.37% to close at 42,347.49

KARACHI: The KSE-100 Index continued to bear the brunt of profit-taking, ending negative for the third successive session on Monday as investors opted to book gains and sit on the sidelines ahead of planned protests by various political parties.

Selling pressure was seen across the board while volumes dried up amid rising political noise.

At close on Monday, the KSE-100 Index ended with a decrease of 586.23 points or 1.37% to finish at 42,347.49 points.

According to Elixir Securities' analyst Jawwad Abubakr, Pakistan equities continued to correct with the benchmark KSE-100 Index finishing below 42,500 level on the first day of the new week.

"Trading activity diminished as investors opted to stay on the sidelines ahead of scheduled protest by a united opposition led by religious party cleric Tahirul Qadri," Abubakr remarked.

Financials were under pressure since the opening bell as profit-taking by institutional investors continued in index-heavy United Bank (UBL PA -2.3%) and Habib Bank (HBL PA -2.2%). Later, oils and fertilisers also joined the club with Fauji Fertilizers (FFC PA -3.3%), Pakistan Oilfields (POL PA -3.1%) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO PA -3.2%) denting the KSE-100 index the most.



However, Lucky Cement (LUCK PA +0.2%) and Engro Corp (ENGRO PA +0.7%) remained in green most of the day with reported foreign buying doing the rounds. Majority of the stocks closed in negative territory, but the national carrier and retails' favourite stock, Pakistan International Airlines (PIAA +23%), closed at its upper circuit after the state minister hinted at its privatisation before the government completes its tenure.

"We advise investors to take advantage of current weakness and build position in value plays with HBL, UBL, BAFL, NML and ISL as our top picks," the analyst added.

JS Global analyst Maaz Mulla said the KSE-100 Index succumbed to pressure after making an intraday low of 663 points.

"Selling pressure was witnessed across the board due to the tense political situation," Mulla observed.

On the economic front, the World Bank put $250 million worth of policy loan for Pakistan on hold due to concerns over Pakistan's weakening macroeconomic framework.

The engineering sector remained under the hammer as the sector closed in the red, where INIL (-5%), ISL (-4.60%), CSAP (-4.48%) and ASTL (-2.72%) declined the most.



"Moving forward, we expect market to remain under pressure on the back of political fiasco and recommend investors to stay cautious."

Overall, trading volume decreased to 130 million shares, compared with Friday's tally of 239 million.

Shares of 356 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 95 stocks closed higher, 249 declined while 12 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.8 billion.

Azgard Nine was the volume leader with 19.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.32 to close at Rs13.97. It was followed by TRG Pakistan with 8.6 million shares, losing Rs1.64 to close at Rs31.25 and PIAC (A) with 6.4 million shares, gaining Rs1 to close at Rs5.35.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs871 million during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.