Market watch: KSE-100 recovers after over 800-point plunge

Benchmark index ends 415.69 points lower to end at 43,885.51

KARACHI: The KSE-100 Index recovered close to half its losses to end 0.94% lower on Tuesday, a pullback that came after panic-induced selling in the morning saw the benchmark plunge over 800 points.

The index opened lower and suffered a fall of 802.97 points soon after trading began as a global equity sell-off enveloped the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as well.



The sell-off came as US equity markets plunged on promising jobs’ data that stoked fear of interest rate hike, turning investors away from stocks and towards bonds.

At close, the KSE-100 Index ended with a decrease of 415.69 points or 0.94% to finish at 43,885.51 points.

Elixir Securities’ analyst Muhammad Arbash said equities dropped on the first day after a long weekend as investors tracked sharp losses in the region, following rise in bond yields in the US.

“The market opened gap down and the KSE-100 Index dropped by as much as nearly 1.7% within minutes.

“Locals are fearing that a rapid pace of tightening in interest rates by US Fed reserves will likely result in liquidity fleeing from risky emerging markets to the US bonds that are considered risk-free assets,” he added.

As the day progressed, notable blue-chips from financial, cement and fertiliser sectors pared losses and somewhat aided market recovery.



On the corporate front, Byco Petroleum Pakistan increased as investors cheered company's announcement of starting production from its second oil refinery.

“The market is expected to remain choppy and volatile with investors continuing to closely track foreign flows, regional markets and commodities for guidance on market direction.”

Overall, trading volumes decreased to 238 million shares, compared with Friday’s tally of 284 million.

Shares of 370 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 114 stocks closed higher, 239 declined while 17 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs8.5 billion.

Azgard Nine was the volume leader with 24.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.98 to close at Rs16.03. It was followed by TRG Pak Ltd with 20.3 million shares, gaining Rs1.85 to close at Rs38.87 and Lotte Chemical with 19.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.22 to close at Rs9.28.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs101.7 million during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.